Polymer solution and lattice theory applications for modeling of asphaltene precipitation in petroleum mixtures

Abstract

Here asphaltene precipitation in petroleum reservoirs during natural depletion and miscible gas injection is modeled via two distinct and new methods (polymer solution and lattice theories). The first model is based on the polymer solution theory, which is a combination of Miller's combinatorial term with a modified residual term of the original Flory-Huggins theory. The second one is the application of the well-known Sanchez-Lacombe equation of state (SL EOS) to describe the phase behavior of asphaltene compounds in crude oil. The results of both models show an acceptable and good agreement between the real data (field and experimental) and these two models. As it can be seen from the obtained results of these two models, it seems application of the lattice or polymer solution theories (based on The Miller's combinatorial term) could give the better and more close to real data.