A GENERALIZED VISCOSITY EQUATION FOR PURE HEAVY HYDROCARBONS

A new method is presented for the correlation and prediction of the viscosity of pure heavy hydrocarbons listed in API Research Project 42. The 273 heavy hydrocarbons in the database include branched/unbranched paraffins and olefins together with a variety of complex nonfused/fused aromatic and naphthenic compounds. A generalized one-parameter viscosity-temperature equation, log (mu + 0.8) = 100(0.01T)b, is proposed (overall AAD < 7-10%) for all heavy hydrocarbons in the database. For each hydrocarbon, an optimum value of parameter b is provided. It is shown that parameter b varies linearly with the logarithm of molar mass as well as the inverse of boiling temperature (at 10 mmHg). This important observation leads to the development of a predictive method for the liquid-phase viscosity of pure heavy hydrocarbons.