Heavy Petroleum Supercritical Fluid Deasphalting Process Simulation Based On the Saturate, Aromatic, Resin, and Asphaltene Composition

In the presented work, we developed a phase equilibrium model for the solvent deasphalting process of heavy petroleum. The pseudocomponents of the heavy oil feedstock were defined according to the saturate, aromatic, resin, and asphaltene composition. A set of empirical correlations was proposed using the molecular weight, the hydrogen carbon ratio, and the aromatic carbon ratio to predict the thermodynamic properties of the pseudocomponent. The vapor-liquid flash calculation and the cubic equation of state were used to calculate the compositions and properties of different phases at various conditions. The effects of the feedstock, the temperature, the pressure, and the solvent ratio on the key product properties were investigated. The model prediction agrees with the experimental data and is expected to guide the design and condition optimization of the solvent deasphalting process.