SBIR Phase I: Determining the Microstructure of Porous Media Using Hyperpolarized 3He Nuclear Magnetic Resonance

9861389 这个小型企业创新研究（SBIR）第一阶段项目将开发一种新的工具，用于确定包括石油和天然气储层岩石在内的多孔材料的微观结构。 这是从世界各地许多储层中回收石油和天然气的关键步骤。 存在用于确定岩石孔隙度和孔隙尺寸分布的方法，但是渗透率的确定尽管对油气回收至关重要，但仍然是一个难题。 第一阶段将演示使用超极化稀有气体的低场核磁共振（NMR）光谱测定岩石微观结构。 最近的研究表明，氦（3He）和氙（129 He）的某些同位素可以使用激光泵浦产生大的非平衡“超极化”。 这使他们的核磁共振信号比标准质子核磁共振大两到三个数量级。 此外，3He的激光诱导非平衡极化与施加的磁场无关，从而允许降低系统成本，降低磁化率效应，以及部分导电介质的更好成像。 第一阶段将包括在储层岩石内用3He和129He进行NMR测量以及多孔介质模型。 第二阶段将设计和建造一个低场成像装置进行实验。 该技术预计将在材料开发和表征以及石油和天然气开采方面有许多应用。

9861389 This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop a new tool for determining the microstructure of porous materials including oil and natural gas reservoir rock. This is a critical step in the recovery of oil and natural gas from many reservoirs around the world. Methods exist for the determination of rock porosity and the distribution of pore sizes, but the determination of permeability, although central to oil and gas recovery, has remained a difficult problem. Phase I will demonstrate the determination of rock microstructure using low-field nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy of hyperpolarized noble-gases. Recent research indicates that certain isotopes of helium (3He) and xenon (129Xe) can be given a large non-equilibrium "hyperpolarization" using laser optical pumping. This gives them an NMR signal two to three orders of magnitude larger than is found in standard proton NMR. Furthermore, the laser-induced non-equilibrium polarization of 3He is independent of applied magnetic fields, thus allowing a reduced system cost, lower susceptibility effects, and better imaging of partially conductive media. Phase I will include NMR measurements with 3He and 129Xe within reservoir rock as well as models of porous media. A low-field imaging apparatus will be designed and built for experiments in Phase II. This technology is expected to have many applications in materials development and characterization as well as in oil and natural gas recovery.