Effect of Operating Conditions of the Extraction Process on the Physical Properties of Lubricating Oil

Abstract

Lubricating base oil is commonly extracted from lube-oil cut, a petroleum cut, with the use of an aromatic solvent. Aromatic content of the final product is an important criterion specifying the product quality. The aromatic removal process to produce the lubricating oil should be carried out in a Liquid-Liquid extraction column. In a typical solvent extraction process, solvent to feed ratio, solvent and feed temperatures, agitation rate, and settling time could directly affect the yield of extraction. In the current study, the effect of agitation rate and settling time on the yield of extraction was studied. It was found that a settling time of 2hrs and an agitation rate of 430 RPM to be the optimum parameters of the extraction process.