Global crude oil demand is projected to hit 103 million barrels per day by 2025, according to the International Energy Agency. To meet this demand efficiently, you’re likely turning to economically attractive "opportunity crudes" from various global sources.
But there's a catch: these crudes bring substantial refining challenges, especially asphaltene precipitation - a top cause of fouling and equipment damage, which causes significant operational inefficiencies. Here's how you can effectively predict crude compatibility and optimize your blending decisions using thermodynamic modeling.
What exactly are "opportunity crudes," and why should you care? Opportunity crudes offer cost savings, but their unpredictable compositions can significantly disrupt your refinery processes.
Why is asphaltene precipitation problematic? Asphaltenes, complex and heavy molecules, can separate from your crude blends depending on fluid composition, temperature, and pressure. Additional factors such as residence time, equipment, configuration, chemical reactions, and high process temperatures can cause these molecules to precipitate, resulting in fouling, equipment damage, and costly operational setbacks. You need a reliable method to manage asphaltene instability and maintain efficiency.
Traditionally, you might rely on standardized titration tests to assess crude compatibility. These tests determine an onset point - the minimum amount of titrating solvent required to initiate asphaltene precipitation. The onsets are reported as P-Values or as solubility blending and insolubility numbers. However, these traditional methods fall short for two key reasons:
These limitations emphasize why you need a predictive tool that seamlessly integrates into your process simulator for efficient planning and operations.
Unlike your traditional methods, the Multiflash Crude Compatibility Tool (MFCCT) is a robust thermodynamic framework that accurately assesses crude blends. It considers vapor, liquid, and asphaltene as equilibrium phases and employs the cubic plus association equation of state (CPA-EOS) to accurately predict asphaltene precipitation, as shown in Figure 1. Here's how it works:
By analyzing a structured blend compatibility index (BCI), you can quickly identify problematic crude combinations and optimize your blending proportions. While BCI may suggest ideal blending orders of source crudes, further data is needed to fully leverage this benefit.
The Blend Compatibility Index (BCI) makes your interpretation straightforward:
For example, a refinery used MFCCT and reported a high predictive accuracy, allowing confident decision-making and avoiding costly disruptions.
Refiners using MFCCT have experienced substantial improvements, as illustrated in Table 1:
Thermodynamic modeling helps you beyond basic compatibility checks:
Proactively managing crude compatibility with thermodynamic modeling is more than just helpful - it's essential for maintaining efficiency and profitability.
Opportunity crudes are economically attractive but come with unpredictable challenges. By combining predictive accuracy and seamless integration, tools like MFCCT empower you to optimize refining operations effectively and sustainably.
Ready to elevate your crude blending strategy? Read the full article to learn how two refiners elevated their crude blending strategies.