Modelling of the three phase LLV region for ternary hydrocarbon mixtures with the Soave-Redlich-Kwong equation of state

The prediction of the three phase liquid-liquid-vapour (L2L1V) region for the ternary mixtures ethane + propane + eicosane (C2 + C3 + C20) and methane + ethane + eicosane (C1 + C2 + C20) was performed using the Soave-Redlich-Kwong equation of state. A procedure for finding K- and L-points is presented. It is based on the solution of thermodynamic conditions for the K- and L-point using the Newton iteration technique with carefully chosen starting points. The calculations were performed with all binary interaction parameters set to zero and with binary interaction parameters fitted to vapour-liquid equilibrium data of the binary subsystems. In the latter case for all binary subsystems two adjustable parameters with classical mixing rules were used. The results obtained show only qualitative agreement with experimental data for both sets of interaction parameters.