Measurement and prediction of temperature and pressure effect on wax content in a partially frozen paraffinic system

Liquid–solid phase equilibrium measurements were carried out at various pressures and temperatures below the onset of crystallization in a mixture made up of a distribution of paraffins with composition exponentially decreasing from n-C6 to n-C36. Liquid and solid phases in partially frozen mixtures were separated by isobaric and isothermal filtration and analyzed by gas chromatography. Waxy solid content and wax composition were then deduced from a mass balance after correction for the entrapped liquid in the solid residue. The results were then compared to the prediction of a model which was previously developed for the representation of the wax appearance temperature of synthetic light gas–heavy paraffins systems.