Electrochemical oxidation of sulfur compounds in naphtha

An embodiment of the invention is directed to an electrochemical process for removing polymerizable sulfur compounds from a hydrocarbon feed by (a) combining a solvent and electrolyte with a feed comprising hydrocarbon and polymerizable sulfur compounds to form a first mixture; (b) passing said first mixture into an electrochemical reactor to electrochemically oxidize said polymerizable sulfur compounds in said mixture under conditions capable of producing sulfur oligomers from said polymerizable sulfur compounds; (c) separating said oxidized first mixture to obtain a desulfurized hydrocarbon feed, and a second mixture comprising sulfur oligomers, solvent and electrolyte.