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Evaluation of interfacial mass transfer coefficient as a function of temperature and pressure in carbon dioxide/normal alkane systems

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Abstract

CO2 gas injection is known as one of the most popular enhanced oil recovery techniques for light and medium oil reservoirs, therefore providing an acceptable mass transfer mechanism for CO2–oil systems seems necessary. In this study, interfacial mass transfer coefficient has been evaluated for CO2–normal heptane and CO2–normal hexadecane systems using equilibrium and dynamic interfacial tension data, which have been measured using the pendant drop method. Interface mass transfer coefficient has been calculated as a function of temperature and pressure in the range of 313–393 K and 1.7–8.6 MPa, respectively. The results showed that the interfacial resistance is a parameter that can control the mass transfer process for some CO2–normal alkane systems, and cannot be neglected. Additionally, it was found that interface mass transfer coefficient increased with pressure. However, the variation of this parameter with temperature did not show a clear trend and it was strongly dependent on the variation of diffusivity and solubility of CO2 in the liquid phase.

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Abbreviations

r n :

Inner radius of needle

t :

Time

φ :

Physical domain

B im :

Boundaries between liquid and impermeable surfaces

B int :

Boundaries between liquid and gas

c :

Gas concentration in liquid phase

D :

Diffusion coefficient

n r :

Direction cosine

n z :

Direction cosine

k :

Interface mass transfer coefficient

C eq :

Equilibrium concentration of gas in liquid

C :

Dimensionless gas concentration

R :

Radial coordinate

Z :

Axial coordinate

τ :

Dimensionless time

k D :

Mass transfer Biot number

ϴ :

Computational domain

V :

Solvent molar volume

β :

Coefficient

V D :

Molar volume of solvent when diffusion approaches zero

E :

Objective function

IFT exp :

Experimental interfacial tension

IFT cal :

Calculated interfacial tension

T :

Absolute temperature

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Acknowledgments

The authors are grateful for the research council of the Shiraz University for financial supports and providing the laboratory and the computational facilities required by the research. Financial supports from Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) Center of the College of Engineering are greatly acknowledged.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Enhanced Oil Recovery Research (EOR) Center, School of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, Shiraz University, Shiraz, Iran

    Fatemeh Nikkhou, Peyman Keshavarz, Shahab Ayatollahi & Ali Zolghadr

  2. School of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, Sharif University of Technology, Tehran, Iran

    Iman Raoofi Jahromi

Authors
  1. Fatemeh Nikkhou
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  2. Peyman Keshavarz
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  3. Shahab Ayatollahi
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  4. Iman Raoofi Jahromi
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  5. Ali Zolghadr
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Correspondence to Peyman Keshavarz.

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Nikkhou, F., Keshavarz, P., Ayatollahi, S. et al. Evaluation of interfacial mass transfer coefficient as a function of temperature and pressure in carbon dioxide/normal alkane systems. Heat Mass Transfer 51, 477–485 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00231-014-1429-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00231-014-1429-7

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