Catalytic removal of naphthenic acids over Co-Mo/γ-Al2O3 catalyst to reduce total acid number (TAN) of highly acidic crude oil

•Co-Mo/γ-Al2O3 is highly active catalyst in acid removal of highly acidic crude.•As sulfidated, it becomes more advantageous in acid removal at low-T (523 K).•We used almost realistic acidic crude oil as a feedstock in this catalysis study.