VISCOSITY PREDICTION OF CARBON DIOXIDE + HYDROCARBON MIXTURES USING THE FRICTION THEORY

ABSTRACT

The general one-parameter f-theory model has been used in conjunction with the SRK and the PR EOS to predict the viscosity of well-defined carbon dioxide + hydrocarbon mixtures. The predicted viscosities are within the uncertainty appropriate for most industrial applications. Although the studied mixtures are simple representations of real oil mixtures with carbon dioxide, the f-theory approach can easily be extended to more complex scenarios, such as the simulation of carbon dioxide enhance oil recovery. Additionally, a comparison with the LBC model, which is a widely used model in the oil industry, has been carried out. In contrast to the f-theory models, the strong dependency that the LBC model has on the accuracy of the density is clearly evident for the kind of mixtures studied in this work. Furthermore, it is shown how the phase behavior complexity that carbon dioxide + hydrocarbon mixtures develop may have a direct influence on the performance of the viscosity modeling and prediction.

Keywords:

• Carbon dioxide
• f-theory
• Hydrocarbon
• Mixture
• Prediction
• Viscosity

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

This work is accomplished within the European project EVIDENT under the JOULE Program, Contract No JOF3-CT97-0034.