Preparation of components for refinery blending of transportation fuels

A process for the production of refinery transportation fuel or blending components for refinery transportation fuel, which process comprises:

• hydrotreating a petroleum distillate consisting essentially of material boiling between about 50° C. and about 425° C. by a process which includes reacting the petroleum distillate with a source of hydrogen at hydrogenation conditions in the presence of a hydrogenation catalyst to assist by hydrogenation removal of sulfur and/or nitrogen from the hydrotreated petroleum distillate;
• fractionating the hydrotreated petroleum distillate by distillation to provide at least one low-boiling blending component consisting of a sulfur-lean, mono-aromatic-rich fraction, and a high-boiling feedstock consisting of a sulfur-rich, mono-aromatic-lean fraction;
• contacting at least a portion of the high-boiling feedstock with an immiscible aqueous phase comprising at least one organic peracid or precursors of organic peracid, in a liquid reaction mixture maintained substantially free of catalytic active metals and/or active metal-containing compounds and under conditions suitable for oxidation of one or more of the sulfur-containing and/or nitrogen-containing organic compounds at temperatures in a range upward from about 50° C. to about 150° C.;
• separating at least a portion of the immiscible peracid-containing phase from the reaction mixture to recover an essentially organic phase from the reaction mixture;
• treating at least a portion of the separated peracid-containing phase to remove at least a portion of the sulfur-containing and nitrogen-containing organic compounds and water contained therein, and thereafter recycling to the reaction mixture at least a portion of the treated peracid-containing phase having a water content of less than 60 percent by volume;
• and
• treating at least a portion of the recovered organic phase with a solid sorbent, an ion exchange resin, and/or a suitable immiscible liquid containing a solvent or a soluble basic chemical compound, to obtain a product containing less sulfur and/or less nitrogen than the feedstock.