A direct push probe assembly that contains NMR components for collecting NMR measurements from soil as the probe assembly is pushed into the soil or retracted from the soil. The probe assembly includes an upper metal housing, a lower metal end piece, and a window section positioned between the upper metal housing and the lower metal end piece. The window section is made of non-conductive, non-magnetic materials for allowing NMR measurements from NMR components located within the probe assembly. The window section is cylindrical with multiple layers, including a layer of hard material capable of transmitting high compressive forces, such as a ceramic material, and a layer of reinforced composite plastic material capable of transmitting high tensile forces. The window section is secured to the upper and lower metal sections of the probe assembly using an adhesive to withstand static and dynamic driving forces transmitted through the probe during use.

An MRI-free non-destructive on-line system for detecting a presence of a material in a sample. The system includes a flow conduit encompassed by a tunable RF coil and having an input duct and an output duct; a flow of the sample through the flow conduit; a signal detector that detects frequency-dependent output signals as a function of a frequency variation of the RF tunable coil within a frequency range of an RF resonant frequency of a standard sample of the substance; and a processing unit.

A nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) system that uses a feedback induction coil to detect NMR signals generated within a substance is described herein. In one embodiment, the NMR system uses the Earth's magnetic field in conjunction with a transmitter coil that applies NMR sequences to a formation. The NMR sequences generate a weak NMR signal within the formation due to the weakness of the Earth's magnetic field. This weak NMR signal is detected using the feedback induction coil.

A method of screening solvents for the solubilization of petroleum hydrocarbons is disclosed. The method includes dissolving petroleum hydrocarbons in a selected solvent to form a first solution, adding an ionic liquid to the first solution and blending to form a second solution and measuring absorbance of the second solution using spectroscopic techniques. The solubilization of petroleum hydrocarbons in the solvent is then determined based on the difference between the measured absorbance of the first and second solution. A system for screening solvents for the solubilization of petroleum hydrocarbons is also disclosed. The system can be used in removal of wax deposition in refinery process equipment, process flow lines, during piping operations, upgradation of wax, prevention of clogging of pipelines, processing of sludge or for removing sludge from petroleum tank installations and enhancing the crude oil flow.

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.

A process for selecting an additive and/or solvent for a colloidal ceramic suspension includes measuring spin lattice T1 relaxation times by nuclear magnetic resonance for a ceramic-solvent pair and an additive-solvent pair, wherein the solvent is selected from a plurality of different solvents, and wherein the additive is selected from a plurality of different additives. The process includes determining a relaxation number for each of the ceramic-solvent pairs and the additive-solvent pairs from the spin lattice T1 relaxation times, wherein a higher relaxation number is indicative of strong affinity between the additive and solvent and between the ceramic and solvent. Additionally, the process includes selecting the additive and the solvent based on the relaxation number having the highest relaxation number for the colloidal ceramic suspension.

A nuclear magnetic flowmeter (1) for determining the flow of a medium flowing through a measuring tube (2) having a magnetic field generator (4), a measuring unit (5) and an antennae unit (6) with an antenna (7). wherein the antennae unit (6) has at least one further antenna (11, 12), that is designed as a coil and is designed for transmitting the excitation signal to the magnetized medium (3) and for detecting the measuring signal over a further measuring section (13, 14) aligned parallel to the longitudinal axis (8) of the measuring tube and located in the magnetic field path (9), and the measuring section (10) and the further measuring section (13, 14) are different.

A non-invasive NMR based apparatus for measuring a food attribute (moisture, sugar content) in food products comprises a magnetic chamber, an RF pulsing device attached to the magnetic chamber, a sensor receiver, and a data processing unit in communication with the sensor receiver. The pulsing device exposes the food ingredients/snacks to an RF field and produces an NMR response signal that is detected by the sensor receiver. The data processing unit quantitatively measures a food attribute of the food product based on the NMR response signal.

A non-invasive NMR based apparatus for measuring a food attribute (moisture, sugar content) in food products comprises a magnetic chamber, an RF pulsing device attached to the magnetic chamber, a sensor receiver, and a data processing unit in communication with the sensor receiver. The pulsing device exposes the food ingredients/snacks to an RF field and produces an NMR response signal that is detected by the sensor receiver. The data processing unit quantitatively measures a food attribute of the food product based on the NMR response signal.

There is described a method for determining the relative quantities of the expected components in a multi-component mixture of solids. The proposed quantification method makes use of a time domain nuclear magnetic resonance (TD-NMR) spectrometer and requires that, for each of the expected components in the mixture, a T1 saturation recovery curve (SRCi) is measured and recorded. The saturation recovery curve for the mixture sample (SRCmix) is determined from a measurement of the sample with the spectrometer. The relative amounts of the expected components present in the mixture sample are determined by fitting a linear combination of the component SRCs (SRCi) to the SRCmix. The resulting value of each weighting coefficient in the fit provides the relative proportion of the corresponding component in the overall sample.