In
this paper, a new interfacial thickness-based method, namely,
the diminishing interface method (DIM), is developed to determine
the minimum miscibility pressures (MMPs) of light oil–CO2 systems in bulk phase and nanopores. First, a Peng–Robinson
equation of state (PR-EOS) is modified to calculate the vapor–liquid
equilibrium in nanopores by considering the effects of capillary pressure
and shifts of critical temperature and pressure. Second, the parachor
model is coupled with the modified PR-EOS to predict the interfacial
tensions (IFTs) in bulk phase and nanopores. Third, a formula of the
interfacial thickness between two mutually soluble phases is derived,
based on which the novel DIM is developed by considering two-way mass
transfer across the interface. The MMP is determined by extrapolating
the derivative of the interfacial thickness with respect to the pressure
(∂δ/∂P)
T
to zero. It is found that the modified PR-EOS coupled with the parachor
model is accurate for predicting the phase behavior and IFTs in bulk
phase and nanopores. More specifically, in nanopores, the lighter
components prefer to be in vapor phase by increasing the temperature
or decreasing the pressure and the IFTs are decreased with the pore
radius, especially at low pressures. The determined MMPs of 12.4,
15.0, and 22.1 MPa from the DIM agree well with the laboratory measured
results for the three Pembina light oil–CO2 systems
in bulk phase at T
res = 53.0 °C.
Moreover, the MMPs of the Pembina and Bakken live oil–pure
CO2 systems in the nanopores of 100, 20, 4 nm are determined
from the DIM, which tend to be decreased at a smaller pore level.
Physically, the interface between the light oil and CO2 diminishes and the two-phase compositional change reaches its maximum
at the determined MMP from the DIM.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.