MULTI-STAGE INJECTOR FOR FLUID ANALYSIS

• US 20090158815A1
• Filed: 02/28/2008
• Published: 06/25/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 12/20/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Schlumberger Technology Corporation (Schlumberger NV)
• Original Assignee: Schlumberger Technology Corporation (Schlumberger NV)
• Inventors: Raghuraman, Bhavani, Shah, Jagdish, Bostrom, Neil William, Steinecker, William H.
• Granted Patent: US 8,250,904 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 73/23.420
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 2030/202 rotary valves
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 30/20 using a sampling valve

Abstract

The present invention generally recites a method, system and apparatus for fluid analysis and more specifically recites a method system and apparatus for multistage injection of a fluid to be analyzed into a fluid analysis instrument.

Claims

1. ) A multi-stage injector for fluid analysis, said injector comprising:

at least one pressure regulation stage, wherein said at least one pressure regulation stage regulates a fluid sample from a first pressure to a second pressure;

at least one conditioning stage in communication with said at least one pressure regulation stage, said conditioning stage configured to receive said fluid sample;

at least one injection stage in communication with at least one conditioning stage, wherein said at least one injection stage is configured to provide at least a portion of said fluid sample to a fluid sample analysis instrument.

2. ) The multi-stage injector of claim 1, wherein at least one of said pressure regulation stage, conditioning stage and injection stage is pressure compensated.

3. ) The multi-stage injector of claim 1, wherein said pressure regulation stage regulates a first high pressures to a second lower pressure.

4. ) The multi-stage injector of claim 1, wherein said pressure regulation stage regulates a first low pressure to a second high pressure.

5. ) The multi-stage injector of claim 1, wherein said pressure regulation stage further comprises a carrier phase pathway for transmission of a carrier phase.

6. ) The multi-stage injector of claim 5, wherein said carrier phase pathway is at a lower pressure than said first pressure.

7. ) The multi-stage injector of claim 5, wherein said carrier phase pathway is at a higher pressure than said first pressure.

8. ) The multi-stage injector of claim 1, wherein said pressure regulation stage is a multi-port rotary valve.

9. ) The multi-stage injector of claim 1, wherein said pressure regulation stage is a solenoid valve.

10. ) The multi-stage injector of claim 1, wherein said conditioning stage is a vaporization stage.

11. ) The vaporization stage of claim 10, wherein said vaporization stage vaporizes entire fluid sample.

12. ) The vaporization stage of claim 10, wherein said vaporization stage vaporizes a portion of fluid sample.

13. ) The vaporization stage of claim 10, wherein at least a portion of said fluid sample is exhausted to waste.

14. ) The vaporization stage of claim 10, wherein said vaporization stage further comprises a vaporization heater, wherein said heater is controlled in accordance with a predefined heat ramp.

15. ) The multi-stage injector of claim 1, wherein said conditioning stage is an expansion chamber.

16. ) The expansion chamber of claim 15, wherein said expansion chamber provides a volume increase in the fluid sample.

17. ) The expansion chamber of claim 15, further comprising a distributor.

18. ) The multi-stage injector of claim 1, wherein said conditioning stage is a compression chamber.

19. ) The compression chamber of claim 18, wherein said compression chamber is temperature modulated.

20. ) The compression chamber of claim 18, wherein said compression chamber condenses at least a portion of the sample.

21. ) The multi-stage injector of claim 1, wherein said injection stage is in communication with at least one chromatographic column.

22. ) The multi-stage injector of claim 1, wherein said injection stage is in communication with a parallel arrangement of chromatographic columns.

23. ) The multi-stage injector of claim 1, wherein said injection stage is in communication with at least one of a chromatographic column, a GC, a HPLC, a SFC, a SEC, a GPC, a LC-GC, a MS, an IMS, a DMS, or a chemical sensor.

24. ) The multi-stage injector of claim 1, wherein said injection stage further comprises a second injection stage.

25. ) The multi-stage injector of claim 1, wherein said injection stage delivers a sharp small plug to an associated fluid analysis device.

26. ) The injection stage of claim 25, wherein said small sharp plug is delivered to a secondary chromatographic column.

27. ) The multi-stage injector of claim 1, wherein said steps of pressure regulation and conditioning occur substantially simultaneously.

28. ) The conditioning stage of claim 1, wherein said condition stage aggregates individual components of a fluid sample in time.

29. ) The conditioning stage of claim 1, wherein said conditioning stage segregates individual components of a fluid sample in time.

30. A multi-stage fluid injection method, comprising the steps of:

providing at least one pressure regulation stage, wherein said at least one pressure regulation stage regulates a fluid sample from a first pressure to a second pressure;

providing at least one conditioning stage in communication with said at least one pressure regulation stage, said conditioning stage configured to receive said fluid sample;

providing at least one injection stage in communication with at least one conditioning stage,

injecting at least a portion of the fluid sample to a fluid analysis instrument.

31. ) The method of claim 30, further comprising the step of pressure compensating at least one of said pressure regulation stage, conditioning stage and injection stage is pressure compensated.

32. ) The method of claim 30, wherein said pressure regulation stage further comprises a carrier phase pathway for transmission of a carrier phase.

33. ) The method of claim 30, wherein said conditioning stage is a vaporization stage capable of vaporizing at least a portion of a fluid sample.

34. ) The method of claim 33, further comprising the step of providing a vaporization heater, wherein said heater is controlled in accordance with a predefined heat ramp.

35. ) The method of claim 30, wherein said conditioning stage is an expansion chamber.

36. ) The method of claim 30, wherein said conditioning stage is a compression chamber.

37. ) The method of claim 30, wherein said injection stage is in communication with at least one of a chromatographic column, a GC, a HPLC, a SFC, a SEC, a GPC, a LC-GC, a MS, an IMS, a DMS, or a chemical sensor.

38. ) The method of claim 30, further comprising the step of providing a second injection stage.

39. ) The method of claim 30, further comprising the step of providing pressure regulation and conditioning substantially simultaneously.

40. ) The method of claim 30, further comprising the step of aggregating individual components of a fluid sample in time.

41. ) The method of claim 30 further comprising the step of segregates individual components of a fluid sample in time.