Process Modeling Using HYSYS Oil Characterization

Oil Characterization

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 Process Modeling Using HYSYS Oil Characterization

Workshop
The petroleum characterization method in HYSYS converts laboratory
analyses of condensates, crude oils, petroleum cuts, and coal-tar
liquids into a series of discrete hypothetical components. These
petroleum hypo components provide the basis for the property package
to predict the remaining thermodynamic and transport properties
necessary for fluid modeling.
HYSYS produces a complete set of physical and critical properties for
the petroleum hypocomponents with a minimal amount of information.
However, the more information you supply about the fluid, the more
accurate these properties will be, and the better HYSYS will predict
the fluid's actual behavior.
In this example, the Oil Characterization option in HYSYS is used to
model a reservoir fluid. The fluid is a combined gas and oil stream.

Learning Objectives
Once you have completed this section, you will be able to:
• Understand the steps required for oil characterization
• Characterize an oil using chromatographic data

Prerequisites
Before beginning this module you need to understand the basics of the
fluid package (Getting Started).

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 Process Modeling Using HYSYS Oil Characterization

Process Overview
Component Mole Fraction Mass Fraction Volume Fraction
N2 0.0048 0.0017 0.0014
CO2 0.0087 0.0048 0.0039
H2S 0.0000 0.0000 0.0000
C1 0.4183 0.0843 0.1871
C2 0.0887 0.0335 0.0626
C3 0.0711 0.0394 0.0517
i-C4 0.0147 0.0107 0.0127
n-C4 0.0375 0.0274 0.0312
i-C5 0.0125 0.0113 0.0121
n-C5 0.0163 0.0148 0.0156
C6+ 0.3274 0.7721 0.6217
H2O 0.0000 0.0000 0.0000
TOTAL 1.0000 1.0000 1.0000

Relative Relative
Residue Density @ Molecular Data Summary
15°C Mass
MOLE MASS VOLUME
OBS CALC OBS CALC
FRACTION FRACTION FRACTION
188
C6+ 0.8265 0.3274 0.7721 0.6217

TOTAL 0.6659
79.6
SAMPLE

Paraffinic Component Groups (Molar Fractions)

Component B.Pt. Temp (°C) Mole
Hexane (C6) 68.9 0.0268
Heptane (C7) 98.3 0.0371
Octane (C8) 125.6 0.0348
Nonane (C9) 150.6 0.0231
Decane (C10) 173.9 0.0240
Undecane (C11) 196.1 0.0183
Dodecane (C12) 215.0 0.0142

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 Process Modeling Using HYSYS Oil Characterization

Tridecane (C13) 235.0 0.0141

Tetradecane (C14) 252.2 0.0113
Pentadecane (C15) 270.6 0.0099
Hexadecane (C16) 287.8 0.0074
Heptadecane (C17) 302.8 0.0082
Paraffinic Component Groups (Molar Fractions)
Component B.Pt. Temp (°C) Mole
Octadecane (C18) 317.2 0.0062
Nonadecane (c19) 330.0 0.0049
Eicosane (C20) 344.4 0.0046
Heneicosane (C21) 357.2 0.0039
Docosane (C22) 369.4 0.0036
Tricosane (C23) 380.0 0.0032
Tetracosane (C24) 391.1 0.0027
Pentacosane (C25) 401.7 0.0024
Hexacosane (C26) 412.2 0.0021
Heptacosane (C27) 422.2 0.0020
Octacosane (C28) 431.7 0.0018
Nonacosane (C29) 441.1 0.0016
Triconane Plus 450.0 0.0133
Aromatic Component Groups (Molar Fractions)
Benzene (C6H6) 80.0 0.0004
Toluene (C7H8) 110.6 0.0015
EBZ, p+m-Xylene (C8H10) 136.1 0.0070
o-Xylene (C8H10) 144.4 0.0028
1,2,4 TriMethylBenzene (C9H12) 168.9 0.0028
Naphthenic Component Groups (Molar Fractions)
Cyclopentane (C5H10) 48.9 0.0002
MethylCycloPentane (C6H12) 72.2 0.0106
Cyclohexane (C6H12) 81.1 0.0050
MethylCycloHexane (C7H14) 101.1 0.0156
TOTALS 0.3274

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 Process Modeling Using HYSYS Oil Characterization

Building the Simulation

Before you start the characterization process, you must:
• Select a property package
• Add any non-oil components, specifically the light ends that
Oil are to be used in the characterization process
Environment
icon Defining the Simulation Basis
For this module, you will be building on the case you started in the
Getting Started Module.
1. Open the case you saved at the end of the Getting Started module.
2. Click the Enter Basis Environment icon to return to the Basis
Environment.
Enter Basis
Environment
3. Go to the Oil Manager tab and click the Enter Oil Environment
icon button. You could also press the Oil Environment button on the
tool Bar. The Oil Characterization view appears.

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 Process Modeling Using HYSYS Oil Characterization

Oil Characterization
The petroleum characterization in HYSYS accepts different types of
information about the oil. The more information you can supply about
your sample, the more accurate the representation.
There are three steps involved in characterizing any oil in HYSYS:
The Minimum amount of 1. Characterize the assay.
information that HYSYS
requires to characterize an 2. Generate hypocomponents.
oil:
3. Install the oil in the flowsheet.
A laboratory distillation
curve Characterize the Assay
Or
The assay contains all of the petroleum laboratory data, boiling point
Two of the following bulk curves, light ends, property curves, and bulk properties. HYSYS uses
properties: Molecular
the supplied assay data to generate internal TBP, molecular weight,
Weight, Density, or Watson
K Factor. and density and viscosity curves (referred to as Working Curves).
Assay Types
Accurate volatility characteristics are vital when representing a
petroleum fluid in your process simulation. HYSYS accepts the
following standard laboratory analytical assay procedures:
• True Boiling Point (TBP). Performed using a multi-stage
batch fractionation apparatus operated at relatively high reflux
ratios. TBP distillations conducted at atmospheric or vacuum
conditions are accepted by the characterization.
• ASTM D86. Distillation employing batch fractionation but
conducted using non-refluxed Engler flasks. Generally used for
light to medium petroleum fluids. HYSYS can correct for
barometric pressure or cracking effects. You must provide the
data on a liquid volume basis.
• D1160 distillation. Distillation employing batch fractionation
but conducted using non-refluxed Engler flasks. Generally
used for heavier petroleum fluids. Curves can be given at
atmospheric pressure or corrected for vacuum conditions. You
must provide the data on a liquid volume basis.
• D86_D1160. This is a combination of the D86/D1160
For all Distillation Curves, distillation data types. You can correct for thermal cracking
you are required to enter at and enable vacuum distillation for sub-atmospheric conditions.
least five data points. You must provide data on a liquid volume basis.
• ASTM D2887. Simulated distillation analysis from
chromatographic data. Reported only on a weight percent basis
at atmospheric conditions.
• Equilibrium Flash Vaporization (EFV). Involves a series of
experiments at constant atmospheric pressure, where the total
vapor is in equilibrium with the unvaporized liquid.

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 Process Modeling Using HYSYS Oil Characterization

• Chromatographic Analysis. A gas chromatograph analysis of

a small sample of completely vaporized oil, analyzed for
paraffin, aromatic, and naphthenic hydrocarbon groups from
C6 to C30. Chromatographic analyses may be entered on a
mole, mass or liquid volume basis.
Light Ends
Light Ends are defined as pure components with low boiling points.
Components in the boiling range of C2 to n-C5 are most commonly of
interest.
HYSYS provides three options to account for Light Ends:
• Ignore. HYSYS characterizes the Light Ends portion of your
sample as hypocomponents. This is the least accurate method
and as such, is not recommended.
• Auto Calculate. Select this when you do not have a separate
Light Ends analysis but you want the low boiling portion of
your assay represented by pure components. HYSYS will only
use the pure components you have selected in the fluid
package.
• Input Composition. Select this when you have a separate
Light Ends assay and your petroleum assay was prepared with
the Light Ends in the sample. HYSYS will provide a form
listing the pure components you selected in the fluid package.
This is the most accurate method of representation.
Bulk Properties
Bulk Properties for the sample may also be supplied. The bulk
properties are optional if a distillation curve or chromatograph have
been supplied.
• Molecular Weight. This is the Molecular Weight of the bulk
sample. It must be greater than 16.
• Mass Density. The mass density must be between 250 and
2000 kg/m3.
• Watson (UOP) K Factor. This must be between 8 and 15.
• Bulk Viscosities. Given at two reference temperatures,
typically 37.78°C and 98.89°C (100°F and 210°F).
The units for density can be
mass density, API or
Physical Property Curves
specific gravity, chosen HYSYS accepts different types of physical property curves:
from the drop down list in
• Molecular weight curve
the Edit Bar
• Density curve
The Watson K Factor is an • Viscosity curve
approximate index of
paraffinicity, K = (Mean Physical property analyses are normally reported from the laboratory
Avg BP)1/3 / (sp gr 60F/60F) using one of the following two conventions:

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 Process Modeling Using HYSYS Oil Characterization

• Independent Assay Basis. A common set of assay fractions is

not used for both the distillation curve and the physical
property curve.
• Dependent Assay Basis. A common set of assay fractions is
used for both the distillation curve and the physical property
curve.
As you supply more information to HYSYS, the accuracy of the
petroleum characterization increases. Supplying any or all of the bulk
molecular weight, bulk density, or bulk Watson K factor will increase
the accuracy of your hypocomponent properties. You can also supply
laboratory curves for molecular weight, density, and/or viscosity,
which will increase the accuracy further.
Adding Assay Data
On the Oil Characterizations view:
1. Select Assay tab.
2. Click the Add button.
3. The Input Data tab of the Assay view appears.
4. In the Name cell, change the assay name to Res-Fluid.
5. For the Bulk Props cell, use the drop-down list to select Used.
6. From the Assay Data Type drop-down list, select
Chromatograph.
7. Once the correct Data Type is chosen, a third cell should appear.
This is the Light Ends cell; use the drop-down list to select Input
Composition as shown below.

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 Process Modeling Using HYSYS Oil Characterization

8. Select the Light Ends radio button in the Input Data group.
9. Specify the Light Ends Basis as Mole %.
10. Enter the following data. Note that the default basis for Light Ends
You need to enter is Liquid Volume %; this must be changed before the data is
the light entered.
components in the
fluid package for For this Component... Enter this Mole Fraction...
them to be N2 0.48
available to the Oil
Manager. H2S 0.00
CO2 0.87
C1 41.83
C2 8.87
C3 7.11
i-C4 1.47
n-C4 3.75
i-C5 1.25
n-C5 1.63
C6 0.00
H2O 0.00

11. Select the Paraffinic radio button and specify the Basis as Mole.
Enter the following data.:
For this component... Enter this Mole Fraction...
Hexane (C6) 0.0268
Heptane (C7) 0.0371
Octane (C8) 0.0348
Nonane (C9) 0.0231
Decane (C10) 0.0240
Undecane (C11) 0.0183
Dodecane (C12) 0.0142
Tridecane (C13) 0.0141
Tetradecane (C14) 0.0113
Pentadecane (C15) 0.0099
Hexadecane (C16) 0.0074
Heptadecane (C17) 0.0082

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 Process Modeling Using HYSYS Oil Characterization

Octadecane (C18) 0.0062

Nonadecane (c19) 0.0049
Eicosane (C20) 0.0046
Heneicosane (C21) 0.0039
Docosane (C22) 0.0036
Tricosane (C23) 0.0032
Tetracosane (C24) 0.0027
Pentacosane (C25) 0.0024
Hexacosane (C26) 0.0021
Heptacosane (C27) 0.0020
Octacosane (C28) 0.0018
Nonacosane (C29) 0.0016
Triconane Plus 0.0133

12. Select the Aromatic radio button, and enter the following mole
fractions:
For this Component... Enter this Mole Fraction...
Benzene (C6H6) 0.0004
Toluene (C7H8) 0.0015
EBZ, p+m-Xylene (C8H10) 0.0070
o-Xylene (C8H10) 0.0028
1,2,4 TriMethylBenzene (C9H12) 0.0028

13. Enter the following data for the Naphthenic components:

For this component... Enter this Mole Fraction...
Cyclopentane (C5H10) 0.0002
MethylCycloPentane (C6H12) 0.0106
Cyclohexane (C6H12) 0.0050
MethylCycloHexane (C7H14) 0.0156

14. Select the Bulk Props radio button to enter the Bulk information.

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 Process Modeling Using HYSYS Oil Characterization

15. The Molecular Weight is 79.6 and the Standard Density is 0.6659
SG_60/60api.
16. Once you have entered all of the data, click the Calculate button.
The status message at the bottom of the Assay view will display
Assay Was Calculated. HYSYS indicates that the sum of all
Just as with fluid fractions does not equal to 1.
packages, assays can be
imported and exported to Once the Assay is calculated, the working curves are displayed on the
be used in different cases. Working Curves tab. The working curves are regressed from the
Assay input. The calculation of the Blend is based on these working
curves.
17. Close this view to return to the Oil Characterization view. You
should still be on the Assay tab of the view.
Notice that all of the buttons on the view are now accessible.
Hypocomponent Generation/Blending the
Oil
The Cut/Blend characterization in HYSYS splits the internal working
curves for one or more assays into hypocomponents. The Cut/Blend
tab of the Oil Characterization view provides two functions, Cutting
the Oil into Hypocomponents and Blending two or more Assays into
one set of hypocomponents.
Cut Ranges
You have three choices for the Cut Option Selection:
• Auto Cut - HYSYS cuts the assay based on internal values
Range Cuts
37.78 - 425°C (100 - 800°F) 28 (4 per 37.78°C/100°F)
425 - 650°C (800 - 1200°F) 8 (2 per 37.78°C/100°F)
650 - 870°C (1200 - 1600°F) 4 (1 per 37.78°C/100°F)
• User Points - You specify the number of hypocomponents
required. HYSYS proportions the cuts according to an internal
weighting scheme.
Cutpoint Range Internal Weighting
IBP - 425°C (IBP - 800°F) 4 per 37.78°C/100°F
425 - 650°C (800 - 1200°F) 2 per 37.78°C/100°F
650°C - FBP (1200°F - FBP) 1 per 37.78°C/100°F
• User Ranges. You specify the boiling point ranges and the
number of cuts per range.

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 Process Modeling Using HYSYS Oil Characterization

Cutting the Assay

Once the Assay has been calculated, you can cut the Assay into
individual hypocomponents.
1. Move to the Cut/Blend tab of the Oil Characterization view. Click
the Abdd button to create a new Blend.
Note that reducing the 2. In the Name cell, change the name from the default, Blend-1 to
Number of Cuts will increase Res-Fluid.
simulation speed, but it may
have a negative effect on 3. From the list of Available Assays (there should only be one), select
simulation accuracy. Res-Fluid and click the Add button. This adds the Assay to the Oil
Flow Information table and a blend (cut) will automatically be
calculated. The Blend is calculated using the default Cut Option,
Auto Cut.
4. Instead of using the default Auto Cut option, change the Cut
Option Selection to User Points and change the Number of Cuts to
5.
The results of the calculation can be viewed on the Tables tab of the
Blend view.
Installing the Oil in the Flowsheet
The final step of the characterization is to transfer the hypocomponent
information into the flowsheet.
1. Move to the Install Oil tab of the Oil Characterization view. The
blend, Res-Fluid appears in the Oil Install Information group.
2. In the Stream Name column, enter the name, GasWell 4, to which
the oil composition will be transferred. HYSYS will assign the
composition of your calculated Oil and Light Ends into this stream,
completing the characterization process.
3. Return to the Basis Environment by clicking the Return to Basis
Environment button.
When you return to the Basis Environment, the hypocomponents that
you have generated in the Oil Characterization are placed in the
current fluid package. You can view the fluid package and examine the
individual hypothetical components, which make up your oil.

Analyzing the Results

Once you have calculated a blend, you can examine various property
and flow summaries for the generated hypocomponents that represent
a calculated oil.

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 Process Modeling Using HYSYS Oil Characterization

Return to the Oil Environment and open the view for the blend, Res-
Fluid.
Tables Tab
The Tables tab of the blend contains various information, representing
the oil and the components. From the Table Type drop down, you can
select different information to display.
• Component Properties. When this is selected, choose either
Main Properties or Other Properties from the Table Control.
o Main Properties. Provides the normal boiling point,
molecular weight, density, and viscosity information for
each component in the oil.
o Other Properties. Provides the critical temperature,
critical pressure, acentric factor, and Watson K Factor
for each individual hypocomponent.
• Component Breakdown. For the input light ends and each
hypocomponent, this provides individual liquid volume %,
cumulative liquid volume %, volume, mass, and mole flows.
• Molar Compositions. Provides the molar fractions of each
light ends component and each hypocomponent in the oil.
• Oil Properties. Choose the Basis (Mole, Mass, Liquid
Volume) and then the property you want to display.
• Boiling Points. Provides TBP, D86, D86 Corr, D1160 Vac,
and D1160 Atm temperature ranges for the oil.
• Other Properties. Provides critical temperature, critical
pressure, acentric factor, molecular weight, density, and
viscosity ranges for the oil.
• User Properties. Provides all user property ranges for the oil.
• Oil Distributions. Provides tabular information of how your
assay would be distributed in a fractionation column. You can
use standard fractionation cuts or user defined cuts.

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 Process Modeling Using HYSYS Oil Characterization

Property Plot Tab

HYSYS can plot various properties versus liquid volume, mole, or
mass percent distilled.

From the Basis drop-down list, choose Mass, Mole, or Liquid Volume
for the X-Axis.
From the Property drop-down list, choose the property to be plotted on
the Y-axis.
• Distillation. You can plot one or more of the following: TBP,
D86, D86 (Crack Reduced), D1160 (Vac), D1160 (Atm), or
D2887.
• Molecular Weight
• Density
• Viscosity
• Critical Temperature
• Critical Pressure
• Acentric Factor
• User Properties

Composite Plot Tab

The Composite Plot tab allows you to visually check the match
between the input assay data and the calculated property curves. The
choice for the graphical comparison is made from the Property drop-
down list.
• TBP or ASTM Distillation Curve
Input assay data is
• Molecular Weight Curves
only displayed for
distillation assay input • Mass Density Curves
and not for • Viscosity Curves
chromatographic • Any User Property Curve
input.

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 Process Modeling Using HYSYS Oil Characterization

Viewing the Stream in the Simulation

1. Leave the Oil Environment to return to the Basis Environment.
2. Enter the Simulation Environment.
3. Move to the Workbook to view the stream that you created,
GasWell 4. You can view the stream composition on the
Compositions tab.
If you determine that some of the hypocomponents parameters need to
be recalculated, you can return to the Oil Environment at any time to
make changes.
The following parameters need to be added to the stream GasWell 4:
In this cell... Enter...
Temperature 35°C (95°F)
Flowrate 545 kgmole/h (1200 lbmole/hr)

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 Process Modeling Using HYSYS Oil Characterization

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