Modelagem matemática e simulação de uma unidade de processamento primário de petróleo no Peru

Abstract

Oil production has different stages, from the exploration of the reservoir to its sending to the refinery for processing into fuel derivatives. Among these steps is the primary separation of oil, through which three separate streams can be obtained, which are gas, water (with sediment) and stabilized oil. This primary oil separation is generally made up of three-phase separators, thermal treaters, electrostatic treaters and decantation tanks. The configuration and operating conditions of the primary separation equipment may vary depending on the quality of the oil produced. This work presents the mathematical modeling and simulation of the primary separation of oil from a typical plant in Peru, taking into account the operating variables such as temperature, pressure, flow and equipment design and also to analyze the consequences of the flow disturbance when entering the system. The mathematical modeling of the primary separation was based on the Nunes model for a three-phase separator. The differential equations obtained from the system are developed through two simulation alternatives, the first with a programming code in Matlab® and the other with a block diagram in Simulink® from Matlab®. The results obtained from the simulation show the importance of the settling tanks for cases of flow disturbance at the entrance to the system and the possibility of simulating new equipment configurations and evaluating different disturbances.