A predictive method for constructing the distillation curve of petroleum fluids using their physical bulk properties

Abstract A new predictive method is presented to construct the distillation curve of different petroleum fractions. The proposed model is capable of predicting both types of distillation data (ASTM D86 and TBP) for the whole range of volume fraction distilled from the initial boiling point (IBP) up to the final boiling point (FBP). To the best of our knowledge, no predictive model has been proposed so far to forecast the distillation curve of petroleum fractions using their physical properties (e.g. specific gravity, molecular weight). Four characteristic parameters are introduced in the proposed model that must be determined for any arbitrary petroleum fluid, exclusively. Using a mathematical base, a system of nonlinear equations is developed including four independent equations and four unknown variables. In fact, the exact solution of the system of equations determines the model's characteristic parameters (α, β, c, Sf). Unlike the previously existing methods, no experimental distillation data are needed to determine the model parameters and the only input data required are the physical properties of petroleum fractions (Mw, SG,Tb). The model validity was thoroughly checked against available petroleum samples and predicted results agreed well with experimental data. A comparison was also accomplished between the proposed model abilities and the most well-known methods previously published, the results of which are presented. Moreover, a group of auxiliary relations is developed for the estimation of those input parameters that may be unavailable. The outcomes revealed that auxiliary correlations could enhance the predictability power of the proposed model in situations that required input parameters are incomplete.