Characterization of Crude Oil by Real Component Surrogates

For characterization of crude oil and its primary fractions, the generation of substitute mixtures (surrogates) containing only real chemical components is a promising approach. The abandonment of pseudo-components, except for the utmost high-boiling fractions, allows for rigorous application of standard thermodynamic models (e.g., activity coefficients and equations of states), increasing reliability of phase-equilibrium calculations and predictive capabilities using process simulators. In this paper, an improved algorithm for characterization of petroleum fractions with real components is developed and applied to characterization of crude oil and its products through generation of substitute mixtures. The capabilities of emulating the separation behavior of crude oil are verified through a comprehensive analysis of a simulation conducted with real components by comparison to real plant data of an operating crude oil distillation unit (CDU). Additionally, a simulation based on the traditional pseudo-component approach is used for comparison.