Application of a generalized model to the estimation of physical properties and description of the aromatic extraction from a highly paraffinic lubricating oil

In the lubricating oil manufacturing process, the aromatic content of vacuum distillates is reduced by solvent extraction, frequently with furfural. In this work, a generalized model (based on a reduced number of pseudo-components and the NRTL model) for estimation of activity coefficients is applied to the simulation of the extraction process of aromatics by furfural from a highly paraffinic Argentinian lubricating oil. Such model proposes a linear dependence between the pseudo-component properties and the NRTL parameters with the average boiling point of the distillate used as feed. Physical properties of the mixtures are calculated using the calculated pseudo-component properties. Obtained values are compared to those calculated by other methods reported in the literature, obtaining no remarkable deviations, but showing the influence of the paraffinic content on the accuracy of the predictions. The extraction process is simulated using the calculated pseudo-component properties and the NRTL parameters by means of Aspen Plus®Plus® commercial software. Good agreement was found between predicted and experimental values of yield, furfural content and composition.