Cycloalkane solubility determination through differential scanning calorimetry

Solid–liquid equilibrium data for hydrocarbons are necessary in modeling of paraffin deposition in crude oil production. A multi-cell differential scanning calorimeter (DSC) has been used to measure solubility of pentadecylcyclohexane and nonadecyclohexane in pentane, octane and toluene. The equilibrium solubility temperature of solutions of known composition was determined by a simple linear extrapolation of the characteristic solubility temperature to an infinitely slow heating rate. The thermodynamic properties necessary for solubility prediction (enthalpy of fusion and melting point temperature) were obtained for the pure solutes.