Bubblepoint petroleum

[caddelljoey]

I am interested in learning a little more than I can find about petroleum bubblepoint.
One of my questions would be if gasses instantly bubble out of solution with a release in pressure or is a catalist required? any info or material appreciated.

 

[DubMac]

Can't see a question anywhere.

 

[caddelljoey]

Sorry..i've rewritten it.

 

[LittleInch]

It will bubble and fizz as it approaches the BP, but if the pressure suddenly reduces, then it can be quite a violent reaction.

No catalyst required.

Think of water and steam. This is like superheated water - i.e. water at say 150C, but at a significant pressure. Drop the pressure - it boils. Petroleum is basically the same thing.

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[caddelljoey]

Ok..I was wondering if maybe it acted a bit more like a carbonated beverage? Ever drop a mentor or a pack of jello mix in a 2liter?

 

[caddelljoey]

Ok..I was wondering if maybe it acted a bit more like a carbonated beverage? Ever drop a menthos or a pack of jello mix in a 2liter?

 

[LittleInch]

Yes I have and yes, it would probably react the same way if the same conditions existed, i.e. the liquid was at the bubble point in equilibrium, which is what a carbonated water is.

this isn't what I would call a catylst, more of a surface reaction causing precipitation of bubbles in a system where the gas is very close to the vapour pressure. - see

http://mentalfloss.com/article/48759/why-do-diet-coke-and-mentos-react.

however the better analogy is to shake up the bottle, let the foam subside - you still have mostly liquid. Open the top and the gas comes out of the liquid very quickly..... you end up with not much liquid.

Get petroleum at it's bubble point at some elevated pressure, then release the pressure - same sort of thing. For petroleum some of the liquid will actually change phase to gas (ethane, butane, propane etc) if the pressure is low enough.



Remember - More details = better answers
Also: If you get a response it's polite to respond to it.

 

[Compositepro]

The issue with gases creating bubbles when pressure drops is call "nucleation". The surface tension of liquids causes the pressure inside a bubble to be higher than outside. The smaller the bubble, the higher the pressure inside. So getting the first microscopic bubble to form (nucleate) requires more vapor pressure than one would expect. Once you get bubbles to form, say by shaking, bubbles will grow freely. Nucleation is not an equilibrium process.

 

[caddelljoey]

I'm guessing then that because of the higher surface tension of produced water, that gases in solution with it will be released slower than those in the petroleum?