The Phase Behavior of Heavy Oil and Propane Mixtures

Mancilla-Polanco, A.; Schoeggl, F. F.; Johnston, Kimberly; Richardson, William D. L.; Yarranton, Harvey W.; Taylor, Shawn D.

doi:10.2118/184988-ms

Cited by 10 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 73 publications

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“…In both cases, the yields were generally insensitive to temperature and pressure (up to 10 MPa). Figure b shows that the yields from mixtures of bitumen, n -pentane, and methane at an 8 wt % methane content approached the yields from mixtures of bitumen and propane . The similarity between the three systems gives confidence that the regular solution approach previously applied to mixtures of bitumen and other n -alkanes including n -butane can also be applied to bitumen/solvent mixtures containing methane.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 76%

“…Comparison of C5-asphaltene and pitch* yields from mixtures of bitumen with different solvents: (a) WC-B-A3 bitumen, methane and n -pentane (C1+C5) at 5 wt % methane content, 21 and 130 °C, and 10 MPa vs WC-B-A3 bitumen and n -butane (C4) at 5 to 10 MPa and 21 to 180 °C (data from ref ); (b) WC-B-A3 bitumen, methane, and n -pentane (C1+C5) at 8 wt % methane content, 21 and 130 °C, and 10 MPa vs WC-B-B3/B4 bitumen and propane (C3) at 2 to 10 MPa and 21 to 130 °C (data from ref ). The bitumens used in each study were different samples from the same reservoir and had slightly different C5-asphaltene contents.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Solubility Parameter of Methane in Bitumen

et al. 2021

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Methane solubility parameters are required when using a regular solution approach to predict asphaltene precipitation from crude oils that contain methane. To determine these parameters, asphaltene onsets and yields from mixtures of bitumen, methane, and n-pentane were measured at temperatures of 21 and 130 °C and pressures of 10 and 60 MPa. The onsets (solvent content at which asphaltene precipitation was first observed) were measured by titrating bitumen with a mixture of methane and n-pentane in a high-pressure microscope. Asphaltene yields (mass of asphaltenes divided by mass of bitumen in feed) were measured in a blind cell pressure-volume-temperature apparatus for mixtures with the same methane content as the onset measurements. Saturation pressures were also measured in the blind cell apparatus for the mixtures with methane and were used to ensure that the onset and yield measurements were performed in a vapor-free condition. The onset and yield data were fitted with a Modified Regular Solution (MRS) model. The inputs to the MRS model are temperature, pressure, and the mole fraction, molar volume, and solubility parameters of each component in the mixturein this case, methane, n-pentane, and the bitumen characterized into saturates, aromatics, resins, and asphaltenes. The properties of the nonasphaltene bitumen components and n-pentane were determined from previously established correlations, and the only unknowns were the asphaltene and methane solubility parameters. The respective unknown solubility parameters were determined by fitting the MRS model to asphaltene precipitation data from mixtures of bitumen and n-pentane and from mixtures of bitumen, n-pentane, and methane. The fitted methane solubility parameters ranged from 6.1 to 9.5 MPa0.5 depending on the temperature. A correlation for the parameter was proposed, and the MRS model with this correlation matched the measured onsets and yields with average deviations of 1 wt % solvent and 8 wt % compared with the experimental uncertainties of ±1.5 wt % solvent and ±6 to 11 wt %.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 76%

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Solubility Parameter of Methane in Bitumen

et al. 2021

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Modeling the phase behaviour of bitumen/n-alkane systems with the cubic plus association (CPA) equation of state

Zhang

Arya

Kontogeorgis

et al. 2019

Fluid Phase Equilibria

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The cubic-plus-association equation of state was applied to model the phase behaviour of bitumen/n-alkane systems including saturation pressures, liquid-liquid boundaries, yields, and phase compositions. Yield is defined here as the mass of bitumen in the heavy phase divided by the mass of bitumen in the feed. To implement the model, the bitumen was divided into a set of pseudo-components based on a distillation assay and either the n-pentane insoluble content of the oil (CPA-C5 approach) or the propane insoluble content (CPA-C3 approach). The pseudocomponents in the solvent insoluble part of the oil were defined as self-associating components, all other pseudo-components were non-associating. The critical properties and acentric factor for each pseudo-component were determined from established correlations. A set of CPA parameters was then developed to fit the available phase behavior data. The self-associating pseudocomponents were assigned a distribution of self-association energies in order to capture the sequential partitioning of asphaltenes to the heavy phase upon solvent addition or in different solvents.Both approaches matched the phase behavior data for mixtures of bitumen with n-pentane and higher carbon number n-alkanes almost to within the experimental error. The CPA-C3 approach also matched the phase behavior data for mixtures of propane and bitumen. The CPA-C5 approach could not match the yield data for propane diluted bitumen but was more straightforward to implement and was less computationally intensive because it employed fewer self-associating components. To apply either approach to another oil, only the self-association energy of the selfassociating pseudo-components need be adjusted. The cross-association energy between the solvent and the self-associating pseudo-components must be tuned for any new solvent.

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Experimental investigation of cyclic solvent injection based on mixture solvent of carbon dioxide and propane

Peng

Zeng

2018

Fuel

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The Phase Behavior of Heavy Oil and Propane Mixtures

Cited by 10 publications

References 73 publications

Solubility Parameter of Methane in Bitumen

Solubility Parameter of Methane in Bitumen

Modeling the phase behaviour of bitumen/n-alkane systems with the cubic plus association (CPA) equation of state

Experimental investigation of cyclic solvent injection based on mixture solvent of carbon dioxide and propane

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