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Oil Characterization
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© 2004 AspenTech. All Rights Reserved
1.3.4 Oil Characterization.pdf
2 Oil Characterization
Workshop
The petroleum characterization method in HYSYS will convert
laboratory analyses of condensates, crude oils, petroleum cuts and coal-
tar liquids into a series of discrete hypothetical components. These
petroleum hypocomponents provide the basis for the property package
to predict the remaining thermodynamic and transport properties
necessary for fluid modelling.
HYSYS will produce a complete set of physical and critical properties for
the petroleum hypocomponents with a minimal amount of
information. However, the more information you can supply about the
fluid, the more accurate these properties will be, and the better HYSYS
will predict the fluid's actual behaviour.
Learning Objectives
Once you have completed, you will be able to use the Oil
Characterization option in HYSYS.
Prerequisites
Before beginning this module you need to understand the basics of the
Fluid Package (refer to Getting Started).
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Oil Characterization 3
Figure 1
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4 Oil Characterization
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Oil Characterization 5
Assay Types
Accurate volatility characteristics are vital when representing a
petroleum fluid in your process simulation. HYSYS accepts the following
standard laboratory analytical assay procedures.
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6 Oil Characterization
Light Ends
Light Ends are defined as pure components with low boiling points.
Components in the boiling range of C2 to n-C5 are most commonly of
interest.
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Oil Characterization 7
Bulk Properties
Bulk Properties for the sample may also be supplied. The bulk
properties are optional if a distillation curve or chromatograph have
been supplied.
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8 Oil Characterization
4. Select the Distillation radio button in the Input Data group box.
5. Select the Assay Basis as Liquid Volume (use the drop-down menu).
Click the Edit Assay button; this will allow you to enter the assay
information below.
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6. Select the Light Ends radio button and enter the data given below:
You need to enter the light components in the Fluid Package for them to
be available to the Oil Manager.
7. Select the Bulk Props radio button to enter the Bulk information.
8. In the Standard Density cell, enter an API Gravity of 29 for the crude.
9. Once you have entered all of the data, click the Calculate button.
The status message at the bottom of the Assay view will display
Assay Was Calculated.
Once the Assay is calculated, the working curves are displayed on the
Plots and Working tabs. The working curves are regressed and
extrapolated from the Assay input. From the user-supplied data, HYSYS
generates curves for NBP, molecular weight, mass density, and viscosity.
These working curves are used in determining the properties of the
hypocomponents generated in the Blend step.
10. Close the view and return to the Oil Characterization view. You
should still be on the Assay tab of the view. Notice that all of the
buttons on the view are now accessible.
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Cut Ranges
You have three choices for the Cut Option Selection:
Range Cuts
37.78 - 425°C (100 - 797°F) 28 (4 per 37.78°C/100°F)
425 - 650°C(797 - 1202°F) 8 (2 per 37.78°C/100°F)
650 - 871°C(1202 - 1600°F) 4 (1 per 37.78°C/100°F)
• User Ranges. You specify the boiling point ranges and the
number of cuts per range.
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5. Click the Submit button to accept the ranges and cut the oil.
Figure 2
The results of the calculation can be viewed on the Tables tab of the
Blend view.
Go to the composite plot tab to verify the calculated curve matches the
input one.
1. Close the Blend view, and move to the Install Oil tab of the Oil
Characterization view.
2. The Blend, Crude, appears in the Oil Install Information group.
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12 Oil Characterization
3. In the Stream Name column, enter the name Raw Crude to which
the oil composition will be transferred.
Figure 3
HYSYS will assign the composition of your calculated Oil and Light Ends
into this stream, completing the characterization process.
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What are the two lowest boiling points for the hypocomponents? _________
What are the Ideal Liquid Density for those hypocomponents? ___________
You can also provide a descriptive Name for the property, such as
Sulphur.
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Now that you have created it, you can return to the Assay Property view,
User Curves tab, and add it to your Assay. The view displayed should
look like this:
Figure 4
Click the Calculate button on the Assay view. You can now print the new
plots, especially that of the sulphur, to analyse them.
Tip: Go to the Blend tab,
and then to the Composite
Plot.
Save your case!
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Oil Characterization 15
In this example, we will use our existing crude from the previous
exercise (Raw Crude) as a diluent and mix it with a heavy oil of 15 API, in
order to see what the new calculated properties of the resulting mixture
are. In characterizing the heavy oil, we have its bulk density (15 API), a
TBP curve, and will also use viscosity curves provided by the lab.
Remember: API density is
inversely proportional to
Specific Gravity so the lower
141.5
it is, the higher the density API gravity ( degrees ) = ---------------------------------------------------------------
- – 131.5
value. 60
Specific Gravity at ----------
60F
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Average crude oils (including water and acid gases) are well represented
by the modified NBS method, however the Twu method is found to do a
better job of predicting the viscosities of heavier hydrocarbons
(NBP>155oF).
The method used for the mixed oil stream will depend on its
composition (NBP).
Exercise
For a proper characterization of a heavy oil it is crucial to know its bulk
density and its viscosity at two different temperatures; providing the
Watson K factor is also recommended.
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Adapted from HYSYS 3.2 • An Independent assay basis, where different sample assays are
Simulation Basis Guide - done––one for the distillation curve, and a different one for each
Characterization Assays of the physical property curves. The assay fractions will likely be
different for each curve.
• A Dependent assay basis, where a common set of assay
fractions is used for both the distillation curve and the physical
property curves.
From the existing case, go to the Oil Environment and add a new Assay
with the following data:
• S. Joaquin Crude
• Standard density 15.3 API
• Viscosity @ 70 F 2040 cSt
• Viscosity @ 100 F 337 cSt
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• If the 2 oils are blended within Oil Manager only 1 set of hypo
components is created, representing the blended mixture.
• However, when different crudes are coming from very different
sources, it is a good idea to blend them separately (creating two
different blends) and mix them in the Simulation Environment
instead. The reason for this is that in blending the crudes within
Oil Manager, HYSYS must generate a set of common
hypocomponents that can well predict the properties both of the
source oils––not necessarily a reasonable expectation for very
different crudes.
The S Joaquin Crude in this case differs greatly from the "Raw Crude" we
created earlier in this module (both in NBP and in physical properties).
For this reason the user is encouraged to create another blend, instead
of creating a common set of hypocomponents from the two crudes.
Optional Exercise
Test this out yourself––after completing this exercise in full, create a new
blend in the Oil Manager that is a mix of both assays. Then compare the
properties of this blend with the those of the mixed stream created in
Step #6 below.
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After you've created the blend, go to the Composite Plot tab and
compare the generated curves with the input data. (You can change the
scale of the graph in order to have a better view of the viscosity by right
clicking on the plot).
4. Install the S Joaquin oil in the PFD. Go to the Install tab of the Oil
Manager and enter the stream name "S Joaquin".
5. Enter the Simulation Environment and view the S Joaquin stream.
What is the current API density of the SJoaquin stream at1 bar and 60 F?
____________________________________________________________________
You can see the importance of using the bulk density in the
characterization of the oil: go back to the Oil Environment and delete
the value that is entered there.
Restore the value 15 API for the bulk density of the heavy oil assay in the
Oil Environment before continuing.
What is the minimum quantity of Raw Crude we need to add? (Hint: Use an
Adjust) _____________________________________________________________
Is the viscosity of the mixed stream better for transportation now? _______
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Save this case for your records and load the one we created prior to the
Exploring the Simulation exercise. The rest of the course materials are
built using the lighter "Raw Crude" stream as the oil source.
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