Simulation of Solvent Extraction for Naphthenic Lubricating Base Oils

Solvent extraction is the process of separating aromatics from vacuum distillates for the production oflubricating base oils. In this study, the authors use dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) instead of furfural as solvent, in light of itshigher selectivity, to obtain extracts with a high aromatic content for naphthenic lubricating base oils. We systematicallyinvestigated effects of the solvent-to-oil (S/O) ratio and extraction temperature on the yield of the extract, efficiency ofaromatic removal, and composition of the extracts and raffinates. The results showed that the aromatic content of extractsfor naphthenic oils could reach a high value of about 80%. The solvent maintained a high selectivity for aromatics fornaphthenic oils even under a high S/O ratio and a high extraction temperature. Moreover, the efficiency of aromatic removalfor naphthenic lubricating base oils could be enhanced by increasing either the S/O ratio or the extraction temperature,although these measures had limited effects in practice. Following this, we used the non-random two-liquid (NRTL) modelbased on the pseudo-component approach to simulate the liquid-liquid equilibrium of the system of DMSO + naphtheniclubricating base oils, and determined the parameters of binary interaction through regression based on the data on phaseequilibrium. The modeling results showed that the predicted yield, content of the solvent, and composition of the raffinatesand extracts were in good agreement with those obtained in the experiments. This validates the reliability of the model usedto represent the DMSO + naphthenic lubricating base oil system. Both the experimental data and the method of simulationreported here can help optimize the extraction of naphthenic lubricating base oils, and provide a better understanding of thecorresponding process.

The Influence of Paraffinic Base Oil on Low-temperature Viscosity of Naphthenic Base Oil

Low-temperature viscosity of lube oils mixed with paraffinic base oil and naphthenic base oil at different mass ratios has been tested by experiments. The influence of paraffinic base oil on the performance of naphthenic base oil was investigated by studying the low-temperature viscosity of tested oils. The viscosity of lube oils increased with an increasing content of high-viscosity paraffinic base oil in the oil mixture. And the low-temperature viscosity was less influenced when the content of paraffinic base oil in the mixture was insignificant. In order to reduce the cost for formulating lubricating oil, a small fraction of paraffinic base oil can be added into naphthenic base oil as far as the property of lubricating oil can meet the specification. According to the study on low-temperature viscosity of the oil mixed with paraffinic base oil and naphthenic base oil, a basic rule was worked out for the preparation of qualified lubricating oils.