Page 71 - Petroleum and Gas Field Processing

2.4.2 Characterization Factors
Correlation indexes or characterization factors are used in the petroleum
industry to indicate the crude type or class. There are several correlations
between yield and type of crude in terms of aromaticity and parafinicity.
The two most widely accepted relationships are the following:

1. Watson characterization factor: 0.333
K ¼ GTb
w
2. U.S. Bureau of Mines Correlation Index:
Ind ¼ Tb87:552 þ 473:7G 456:8

where G is the specific gravity at 60 F and Tb is the mean average boiling
point ( R).

The Watson factor ranges from 10.5, for highly naphthenic crude oils, to
12.9, for the paraffinic type [4].

REFERENCES

1. Abdel-Aal, H. K., Bakr, A., and Al-Sahlawi, M. A., Petroleum Economics and
Engineering, 2nd ed., Marcel Dekker, New York, 1992.
2. Gary, J. H. and Handwerk, G. E., Petroleum Refining—Technology and
Economics, 3rd ed., Marcel Dekker, New York, 1994.
3. Hatch, L. F. and Matar, S., From Hydrocarbons to Petrochemicals, Gulf
Publishing Co., Houston, TX, 1981.
4. British Petroleum Handbook, BP Company Ltd, London, 1977.

Copyright 2003 by Marcel Dekker, Inc. All Rights Reserved.