Processes for preventing or minimizing the rate of upgrading catalyst deactivation in a petroleum refinery, preventing or minimizing the rate of silicone-containing deposits within refinery process equipment, or both utilizing high-field proton nuclear magnetic spectroscopy (NMR) to rapidly measure concentrations of polydimethylsiloxanes (PDMS) and its thermal degradation products in potential refinery feed stock and refinery intermediate streams with high sensitivity and precision.

A gas oil separation plant (GOSP) and method for receiving crude oil from a wellhead and removing gas, water, and salt from the crude oil, and discharging export crude oil. The GOSP includes online analyzer instruments for performing online analysis of salt concentration in multiple streams in the GOSP. Based in part on the online analysis, the salt content in the export crude oil may be determined and the flowrate for wash water supplied to the desalter vessel may be specified.

A process for producing liquid transportation fuels in a petroleum refinery while avoiding the usage of crude oil feed stock that characterized by a fouling thermal resistance having the potential to foul refinery processes and equipment. Spectral data selected from NIR, NMR or both is obtained and converted to wavelets coefficients data. A genetic algorithm (or support vector machines) is then trained to recognize subtle features in the wavelet coefficients data to allow classification of crude samples into one of two groups based on fouling potential. Rapid classification of a potential crude oil feed stock according to its fouling potential prevents the utilization of feed stocks characterized by increased fouling potential in a petroleum refinery to produce liquid transportation fuels.

A magnetic resonance device for monitoring growth of tissue in one or more bioreactors. The device can include a first magnet and a second magnet that can form a uniform magnetic field of desired strength around at least one sample of effluent from at least one bioreactor. At the command of a controller, an RF signal can illuminate the at least one magnetized sample, and sensors can detect at least one echo signal from the at least one magnetized sample. The controller can characterize the at least one sample based on the at least one echo signal. A resonator can shape the at least one echo signal.

The present invention relates to a method based on proton NMR technique to differentiate genuine and spurious Hand-rub formulations. This method identifies and estimates all four components present in WHO-recommended Hand-rub formulations. Further, this method also identifies the presence of non-recommended/additional components present in WHO-recommended Hand-rub formulations. The method described in this invention utilizes experimental parameters and derived equations to quantify all four components in just fifteen minutes without using any organic solvents.

A magnetic resonance device for monitoring growth of tissue in one or more bioreactors. The device can include a first magnet and a second magnet that can form a uniform magnetic field of desired strength around at least one sample of effluent from at least one bioreactor. At the command of a controller, an RF signal can illuminate the at least one magnetized sample, and sensors can detect at least one echo signal from the at least one magnetized sample. The controller can characterize the at least one sample based on the at least one echo signal. A resonator can shape the at least one echo signal.

The present invention relates to a method based on proton NMR technique to differentiate genuine and spurious Hand-rub formulations. This method identifies and estimates all four components present in WHO-recommended Hand-rub formulations. Further, this method also identifies the presence of non-recommended/additional components present in WHO-recommended Hand-rub formulations. The method described in this invention utilizes experimental parameters and derived equations to quantify all four components in just fifteen minutes without using any organic solvents.

Systems and methods for monitoring a crude oil blending process use nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) sensors which investigate properties of a plurality of crude oil streams that are mixed together to form a crude oil blend. An NMR sensor is also used to investigate the properties of the crude oil blend. The investigated properties may include viscosity. Resulting determinations may be used to control the input streams so that the output stream meets desired criteria. Additional sensors such as spectroscopy sensors, viscometers, and densitometers may be used in conjunction with the NMR sensors.

The low-field nuclear magnetic resonance (LF-NMR) is used in the design of a formula of a water-based printing ink and selection of the water-based printing ink or a wetting agent. The water-based printing ink or the wetting agent is quickly selected through the inversion data of an LF-NMR transverse relaxation time (T.sub.2). By using LF-NMR to detect the distribution of water in the water-based printing ink or wetting agent, the water-based printing ink is quickly detected in real-time and a high-quality water-based printing ink is selected, which contributes to the design and development of water-based printing inks. The state of water in the ink also is adjusted based on the relationship between the distribution state of water in the printing ink and the definition of the printed pattern, thereby ensuring the definition of the printed pattern.

The invention relates to a method for non-destructive testing of an insulating sheath (G) of a cable (CB) made of a material of elastomeric polymer. The invention is characterized by a step (E2) of measurement using proton nuclear magnetic resonance on the insulating sheath (G) in order to measure at least a first parameter (P1) characterizing the elastically active chains (A) of the macromolecular network of the elastomeric polymer, comprising the fraction (FCEA) of elastically active chains (A) of the network and/or the average molar mass (M.sub.c) of the elastically active chains (A), and by an assessment step (E3) including a comparison of the first parameter (P1) characterizing the elastically active chains (A) and/or of a second parameter (P2), having been determined from the first parameter (P1) characterizing the elastically active chains (A), with at least one prescribed assessment threshold (S) in order to determine that the cable (CB) is at the end of its life when the first parameter (P1) and/or the second parameter (P2) is/are below the prescribed assessment threshold.