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

这个小型企业创新研究(SBIR)第一阶段项目涉及使用电子自旋共振(ESR/EPR)光谱对原油乳状液进行现场分析。英国石油公司最近在墨西哥湾的漏油事件与以往的漏油事件有很大不同，因为很大一部分漏油被认为是位于巨大的水下石油羽流中，这些羽流由微小的分散油滴组成。确定这种分散油的特征(快速确定分散油的存在或不存在及其浓度)是监测损害范围和清理工作有效性的一项重要任务。该项目将展示主动光谱技术的一项新应用--S手持微电子自旋共振技术，该技术目前被美国几家主要石油公司用于测量重油中沥青质的浓度。使用Micro-ESR光谱仪测量沥青质需要大约1分钟，该仪器需要30W的功率，适合手持或远程部署(例如，水下)测试设备。这项研究的更广泛/商业影响是建议的基于主动光谱的重油检测系统？S微电子自旋共振技术提供了快速和相对廉价地表征海水样本的潜力，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也对生产商和炼油商都有很大的兴趣。许多重质原油含有沥青质成分，必须适当测量和处理，以防止沉淀和管道和设备结垢。

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.