Experimental and molecular modeling study of the three-phase behavior of (n-decane + carbon dioxide + water) at reservoir conditions.

Knowledge of the phase behavior of mixtures of oil with carbon dioxide and water is essential for reservoir engineering, especially in the processes of enhanced oil recovery and geological storage of carbon dioxide. However, for a comprehensive understanding, the study of simpler systems needs to be completed. In this work the system (n-decane + carbon dioxide + water) was studied as a model (oil + carbon dioxide + water) mixture. To accomplish our aim, a new analytical apparatus to measure phase equilibria at high pressure was designed with maximum operating temperature and pressure of 423 K and 45 MPa, respectively. The equipment relies on recirculation of two coexisting phases using a two-channel magnetically operated micropump designed during this work, with sampling and online compositional analysis by gas chromatography. The apparatus has been validated by comparison with published isothermal vapor-liquid equilibrium data for the binary system (n-decane + carbon dioxide). New experimental data have been measured for the system (n-decane + carbon dioxide + water) under conditions of three-phase equilibria. Data for the three coexisting phases have been obtained on five isotherms at temperatures from 323 to 413 K and at pressures up to the point at which two of the phases become critical. The experimental work is complemented here with a theoretical effort in which we developed models for these molecules within the framework of the statistical associating fluid theory for potentials of variable range (SAFT-VR). The phase behavior of the three binary subsystems was calculated using this theory, and where applicable, a modification of the Hudson and McCoubrey combining rules was used to treat the systems predictively. The experimental data obtained for the ternary mixture are compared to the predictions of the theory. Furthermore, a detailed analysis of the ternary mixture is carried out based on comparison with available data for the constituent binary subsystems. In this way, we analyzed the observed effects on the solubility when the third component was added.