A process for upgrading hydrocarbonaceous oil containing
heteroatom-containing compounds where the hydrocarbonaceous oil is contacted with a
solvent system that is a mixture of a major portion of a polar
solvent having a
dipole moment greater than about 1
debye and a minor portion of water to selectively separate the constituents of the carbonaceous oil into a
heteroatom-depleted
raffinate fraction and
heteroatom-enriched extract fraction. The polar
solvent and the water-in-
solvent system are formulated at a ratio where the water is an antisolvent in an amount to inhibit
solubility of heteroatom-containing compounds and the polar solvent in the
raffinate, and to inhibit
solubility of non-heteroatom-containing compounds in the extract. The ratio of the hydrocarbonaceous oil to the
solvent system is such that a coefficient of separation is at least 50%. The coefficient of separation is the mole percent of heteroatom-containing compounds from the carbonaceous oil that are recovered in the extract fraction minus the mole percent of non-heteroatom-containing compounds from the carbonaceous oil that are recovered in the extract fraction. The solvent-free extract and the
raffinate concentrates may be used directly or processed to make valuable
petroleum, chemical or industrial products.