A naphtha derived from the liquefaction of a subbituminous (Black Thunder) or a bituminous coal (III. #6) was hydrotreated on a pilot plant scale, to provide a feedstock sufficiently low in heteroatoms for further studies in reforming. Two commercial catalysts, a Ni/Mo and a Co/Mo on alumina, were employed in the processing of the naphtha samples. The Black Thunder naphtha was processed for over 120 hours, twice using the Co/Mo catalyst and once using the Ni/Mo catalyst. For this naphtha, the removal of nitrogen was extremely difficult using the catalysts and conditions employed in this study. An average of 51.6% of the nitrogen was removed during each of the three passes. The oxygen compounds in this naphtha were relatively easily removed. During the first pass over the Co/Mo catalyst, 94.0% of the oxygen was removed.