Phase Equilibria for Water + p-Xylene + 1-Methylnaphthalene System At 573 to 653 K

Knowledge of phase equilibria for water + hydrocarbon mixture is important for design of upgrading heavy oil using high temperature and pressure water. Phase equilibria for water + p-xylene + 1-naphthalene ternary system were measured by a flow type apparatus with an equilibrium view cell of the ultra low volume, 2.3 mL. A T-shape micro mixer, 0.3 mm inner diameter, was used for the enhancement of the mass transfer between water and hydrocarbon phases. These micro mixer and ultra low volume equilibrium view cell also drastically reduced the amount of samples needed for the phase equilibrium measurements. The vapor – liquid and liquid – liquid equilibria at 573 and 623 K were observed at the hydrocarbon and water rich compositions, respectively. At 623 K, the mixture of water + p-xylene + 1-naphthalene forms the only vapor – liquid equilibria at the hydrocarbon rich compositions. It was found that the phase inversion of water and hydrocarbon rich phases in the liquid – liquid equilibria at 573 K was resulted from the increase of pressure.