In accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure, a loading tool for a multi-well chromatography filter plate is disclosed. The loading tool may include a top plate and a bottom plate slidably coupled to the top plate. The top plate may include a plurality of wells for holding a material, a rail located along a side of the top plate, and a notch formed in the rail. The bottom plate may include a plurality of funnels extending from the bottom plate, each of the plurality of funnels corresponding to one of the plurality of wells, a track located along a side of the bottom plate to receive the rail located on the top plate, and a pathway formed in the track to receive the notch such that the notch and the pathway limit movement of the top plate relative to the bottom plate.

Methods, systems, devices, and products for evaluating a fluid. Methods include introducing a sample comprising the fluid to a solvating fluid at a point in a chamber associated with the instrument at a first time to create a heterogeneous admixture; measuring concentrations of each of a plurality of components in the admixture at a plurality of distances from the point in the chamber at, at least one additional time later than the first time, each of the plurality of distances being non-zero; and estimating a relative concentration for each of the plurality of components in the fluid by extrapolating the relative concentration of each of the plurality of components in the sample at the point at the first time using the measured concentrations in the admixture at the plurality of distances.

Systems and methods for extracting hydrocarbon gas utilize a vacuum chamber with a mud chamber portion that is expandable and contractible. Gas is extracted at vacuum pressures.

A gas chromatographic method for detecting a marker compound in a fuel by (a) introducing a sample of fuel into a first capillary column coated with a stationary phase based on polydimethylsiloxane and allowing the sample to flow through the first column to produce a first effluent; (b) allowing the first effluent to pass through a detector and identifying a retention time range in it which includes a retention time of the marker compound; (c) introducing only a portion of the first effluent stream which is within the retention time range into a second capillary column coated with either (i) an ionic sorbent or (ii) a polyethylene glycol, and allowing said portion to flow through the second capillary column to produce a second effluent stream; and (d) allowing the second effluent to pass through a detector; wherein the marker compound has formula Ar(R.sup.2).sub.m(OR.sup.1).sub.n and is present in the fuel at a level from 0.01 ppm to 100 ppm.

Modified thermoplastic hydrocarbon thermoplastic resins are provided, as well as methods of their manufacture and uses thereof in rubber compositions. The modified thermoplastic resins are modified by decreasing the relative quantity of the dimer, trimer, tetramer, and pentamer oligomers as compared to the corresponding unmodified thermoplastic resin polymers, resulting in a product that exhibits a greater shift in the glass transition temperature of the elastomer(s) used in tire formulations. This translates to better viscoelastic predictors of tire tread performance, such as wet grip and rolling resistance. The modified thermoplastic resins impart remarkable properties on various rubber compositions, such as tires, belts, hoses, brakes, and the like. Automobile tires incorporating the modified thermoplastic resins are shown to possess excellent results in balancing the properties of rolling resistance, tire wear, snow performance, and wet braking performance.

Systems and methods are provided for determining a content of a hydrocarbon or other compound, such as a C.sub.3 to C.sub.7 hydrocarbon, in a condensed steam sample. Cooled steam condensate can be flowed through a sample chamber including an inner overflow tube. When the flow stops, water can be drained from the sample chamber, and then the sample chamber can be opened to allow fluid communication with a vapor chamber above the sample chamber. This can allow hydrocarbons in the condensed steam (and/or other gas) to be transferred from the sample chamber into the vapor chamber. The vapor chamber can then be isolated from the sample chamber. At least a portion of the content of the vapor chamber can then be passed to a detection volume, such as the characterization cell for a gas chromatography system.

A method for separating diastereomers of pristane. A pristane sample is prepared, and then injected into a chromatographic instrument equipped with a chiral chromatographic column, where a stationary phase of the chiral chromatographic column has a preset pore size. The pristane diastereomers in the pristane sample are separated by the chiral chromatographic column, and the components produced by the separation of the pristane diastereomers sequentially enter a mass spectrometer for detection and analysis.

Systems and methods are disclosed for providing virtual assays of an oil sample such as crude oil based on high pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC) carried out on the oil sample, and the density of the oil sample. The virtual assay provides a full range of information about fractions of the oil sample including naphtha, gas oil, vacuum gas oil, vacuum residue, and other information about the properties of the oil sample. Using the system and method herein, the virtual assay data pertaining to these several fractions of the oil sample and the oil sample itself is obtained without fractionation of the oil sample into the several components.

Systems and methods are disclosed for providing virtual assays of an oil sample such as crude oil based on gel permeation chromatography (GPC) carried out on the oil sample or a solution of the oil sample in a GPC solvent, and the density of the oil sample. The virtual assay provides a full range of information about fractions of the oil sample including naphtha, gas oil, vacuum gas oil, vacuum residue, and other information about the properties of the oil sample. Using the system and method herein, the virtual assay data pertaining to these several fractions of the oil sample and the oil sample itself are obtained without fractionation of the oil sample into the several components.

The present invention relates to systems and methods for finding and sampling hydrocarbons from seeps in water or from artificial sources of water. The present invention related to systems and methods for in situ analyzing fluid samples in a body of water. The systems and methods can be used to find hydrocarbons and associated non-hydrocarbons from seeps in water. Such seeps may come from natural sources in deep water, possibly as deep as 3000 m or even more.