EXPERIMENTAL STUDIES AND DISCRETE THERMODYNAMIC MODELING ON SUPERCRITICAL CO2 EXTRACTIONS OF A HEXADECANE AND CRUDE-OIL

Continuous multiple-contact experiments using a supercritical CO2 were performed to study the phase equilibrium behavior of the dynamic extractions of a hexadecane and crude oil. The extraction yields increased as CO2 density increased with a pressure rise at constant temperature. The rates of extractions were also greater at higher pressure. The simulated distillation analysis of extracted crude oil samples represented that the earlier extracts contained lighter compounds and the latter extracts contained progressively heavier compounds. These compositional changes occurring during a dynamic extraction were also ascertained by phase-equilibrium flash calculations using the equations of state and a pseudo-component lumping method. Two different equations of state, Soave-Redlich-Kwong and Peng-Robinson, were used to predict the equilibrium compositions of the extract phase that is a supercritical carbonic phase. The results of phase behavior calculations established the nature of the extraction and partitioning process as a function of time. These results also provided reasonable agreement between the experimental data and the calculated values.