Any alcohol or alcoholic (OH) containing material may be employed as the quenching or inactivating agent.

Methanol is about as effective as any other material, it is inexpensive, and it is easily separated from most of the hydrocarbon solvents. Other materials which may be employed include ethanol, propanol, isopropanol, n-butanol, isobutanol, the pentanols, the hexanols, the heptanols, the octanols, ether alcohols, ethoxyethanol and related alkoxyalcohols benzyl alcohol, polyhydroxy compounds such as the glycols, preferably the water soluble ethylene and polyethylene glycols, glycerine, etc.; and hydroxy aromatic compounds such as phenol and others. In many cases the shortstopping agent will be selected for its miscibility or immiscibility with the hydrocarbon solvent, or for its distillation characteristics in mixtures with the solvent, in order to simplify solvent recovery.
The alcoholic shortstopping agent of this invention may also contain other additives which will assist in neutralizing and/or complexing acidic substances liberated by alcoholysis of the catalyst.