A Two-Component Solubility Model of the Onset of Asphaltene Flocculation in Crude Oils

摘要

A new, two-component asphaltene solubility model (ASM) has been developed to predict the phase behavior of asphaltenes in crude oils. Previous asphaltene solubility models have relied for solution upon simplifying assumptions (e.g., nucleation of a pure asphaltene or pure solvent phase) and approximation methods for determining crude oil solubility parameters. No such simplifying assumptions or approximations are needed if a simple correlation between the solubility parameter and the refractive index of nonpolar species is used to characterize the oil.