SBIR Phase I: Rapid and In-situ Analysis of Deepwater Oil Plumes by Micro-ESR Spectrometry

这项小型企业创新研究（SBIR）一期项目涉及使用电子自旋共振（ESR/EPR）光谱对原油乳剂进行现场分析。最近发生在墨西哥湾的英国石油公司石油泄漏与以往的石油泄漏有很大的不同，因为泄漏的大部分石油被认为位于由微小的分散油滴组成的巨大水下油羽中。表征这种分散油（快速确定是否存在分散油及其浓度）是监测损害范围和清理工作有效性的重要任务。该项目将展示有源频谱的新应用。该技术目前被美国几家大型石油公司用于测量重油中沥青质的浓度。使用Micro-ESR光谱仪测量沥青质大约需要1分钟，仪器需要30W的功率，适用于手持或远程部署（例如水下）测试设备。这项研究的更广泛/商业影响是：提出的基于有源谱的稠油探测系统？该公司的Micro-ESR技术提供了快速、相对廉价地表征海水样品的潜力，并确定是否存在重油，如果存在，浓度是多少。原油中沥青质的测量对生产商和炼油厂来说都是非常重要的。许多重质原油含有沥青质成分，必须进行适当的测量和处理，以防止沉淀和污染管道和设备。

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project involves field analysis of crude oil emulsions using electron spin resonance (ESR/EPR) spectroscopy. The recent BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is substantially different from previous oil spills in that a large fraction of the oil spilled is thought to be located in huge underwater oil plumes comprised of tiny dispersed oil droplets. Characterizing this dispersed oil (rapidly determining the presence or absence of dispersed oil, and its concentration) represents an important task in monitoring the scope of the damage and effectiveness of the cleanup efforts. This project will demonstrate a new application of Active Spectrum?s handheld Micro-ESR technology which is currently used by several major oil companies in the US to measure the concentration of asphaltene in heavy oils. Asphaltene measurement using the Micro-ESR spectrometer takes approximately 1 minute and the instrument requires 30W of power, suitable for handheld or remotely deployed (for example, underwater) test equipment. The broader/commercial impacts of this research are The proposed heavy oil detection system based on Active Spectrum?s Micro-ESR technology offers the potential to rapidly and relatively inexpensively characterize seawater samples and determine if heavy oil is present, and if so, in what concentration. Measurement of asphaltene in crude oil is also of substantial interest to both producers and refiners. Many heavy crude oils have an asphaltene component that must be appropriately measured and treated to prevent precipitation and fouling of pipelines and equipment.