US 12,140,578 B2
Tracer analysis
Hooisweng Ow, Woburn, MA (US); Gawain Thomas, Shirley, MA (US); Sehoon Chang, Boston, MA (US); and Wei Wang, Quincy, MA (US)
Assigned to Saudi Arabian Oil Company, Dhahran (SA)
Filed by Saudi Arabian Oil Company, Dhahran (SA)
Filed on Dec. 12, 2022, as Appl. No. 18/079,644.
Application 18/079,644 is a division of application No. 16/938,801, filed on Jul. 24, 2020, granted, now 11,549,922.
Claims priority of provisional application 62/878,281, filed on Jul. 24, 2019.
Prior Publication US 2023/0109880 A1, Apr. 13, 2023
Int. Cl. G01N 30/74 (2006.01); G01N 21/64 (2006.01); G01N 33/18 (2006.01); G01N 30/02 (2006.01)
CPC G01N 30/74 (2013.01) [G01N 21/6428 (2013.01); G01N 33/1833 (2013.01); G01N 2021/6439 (2013.01); G01N 2030/027 (2013.01)] 20 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A system, comprising:
a purification unit configured to receive a groundwater sample comprising multiple organic tracer species from a petroleum containing reservoir and comprising a solid phase extraction material configured to isolate an aqueous fraction of the groundwater sample;
a first chromatographic separation device comprising at least one chromatographic column configured to receive the aqueous fraction and to separate the aqueous fraction into a plurality of components, wherein each component corresponds to a different one of the organic tracer species;
a fluid source coupled to an output of the first chromatographic separation device and configured to combine at least one lanthanide element with each of the separated components;
a second chromatographic separation device comprising at least one chromatographic column configured to receive each of the separated components and to separate an excess amount of the at least one lanthanide element from the organic tracer species of each separated component; and
an analyzer coupled to an output of the second chromatographic separation device and configured to measure fluorescence emission from complexes of each of the organic tracer species and the at least one of the lanthanide elements, and to determine a relative amount of each organic tracer species in the groundwater sample based on the measured fluorescence emission,
wherein the fluid source is configured to supply the at least one lanthanide element to each of the component solutions so that a ratio of the at least one lanthanide element to the separated component in each component solution is 10:1 or greater.