IN-LINE PROCESS MEASUREMENT SYSTEMS AND METHODS

• US 20100073666A1
• Filed: 03/27/2008
• Published: 03/25/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 03/30/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Halliburton Energy Services Incorporated (Halliburton Company)
• Original Assignee: Halliburton Energy Services Incorporated (Halliburton Company)
• Inventors: James, Jonathan H., Blackburn, John C., Freese, Robert P., Perkins, David L.
• Granted Patent: US 8,212,216 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 356/51
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 3/02 Details
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 3/0208 using focussing or collimating elements, e.g. lenses or mirrors; performing aberration correction
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 3/0232 using shutters
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 3/0235 using means for replacing an element by another, for replacing a filter or a grating
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 3/0264 Electrical interface; User interface
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 3/0291 Housings; Spectrometer accessories; Spatial arrangement of elements, e.g. folded path arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 3/42 Absorption spectrometry; Double beam spectrometry; Flicker spectrometry; Reflection spectrometry beam switching arrangements G01J3/08
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 2021/151 Gas blown
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 21/31 Investigating relative effect of material at wavelengths characteristic of specific elements or molecules, e.g. atomic absorption spectrometry G01N21/72 takes precedence

Abstract

A method of using multivariate optical computing in real-time to collect instantaneous data about a process stream includes installing an optical analysis system proximate a process line, the process line being configured to move a material past a window of the optical analysis system; illuminating a portion of the material with a light from the optical analysis system; directing the light carrying information about the portion through at least one multivariate optical element in the optical analysis system to produce an instantaneous measurement result about the portion; and continuously averaging the instantaneous measurement result over a period of time to determine an overall measurement signal of the material.

Claims

1. A method of using multivariate optical computing to collect real-time data about a process stream of a target material, said method comprising:

(a) installing an optical analysis system proximate a process line, the process line having a transmissive window installed therein and being configured to move the target material past the transmissive window for analysis by the optical analysis system;

(b) illuminating a portion of the target material in the area of the transmissive window with a modulated light from the optical analysis system, said light being in the form of light pulses;

(c) capturing said light pulses as said pulses are reflected from the illuminated portion of the target material, said pulses carrying information about a property of the illuminated portion of the target material;

(d) directing a portion of said information-carrying pulses through at least one multivariate optical element in the optical analysis system to produce a stream of instaneous measurement results; and

(e) continuously averaging the stream of instantaneous measurement results over a period of time to determine an overall measurement of said property of the target material.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the optical analysis system of step (a) operates in one of reflectance mode and transmission mode.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the optical analysis system of step (a) operates in reflectance mode.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the optical analysis system of step (a) is connected directly to the process line via a fitted connector, the fitted connector being aligned with the transmissive window.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the process line of step (a) comprises a container selected from the group consisting of a mixing vat, a reaction vessel, a blender, a transport conveyor, a screw conveyor, and a paddle conveyor.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein said light of step (b) is infrared light.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein a second portion of said information-carrying light is directed to a second photodetector in the optical analysis system to produce a second stream of instantaneous measurement results.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein said second stream of instantaneous measurement results is averaged and compared to said first stream of instantaneous measurement results.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein said period of time in step (e) is up to about 60 minutes.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of providing a window clearing system proximate to the transmissive window, the window clearing system being configured to clear the target material from the transmissive window.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the window clearing system comprises one of a wiper system and an air purge system.

12. An optical analysis system for continuous collection of real-time data about at least one chosen property of a target material, the target material being part of a process stream, the process stream including a container having an interrogation window therein, whereby said optical analysis system interacts with the target material via the interrogation window, said optical analysis system comprising:

(a) a light source being configured to radiate a source light;

(b) a modulator disposed in a path of said source light, the modulator being configured to modulate said source light into light pulses at a desired frequency;

(c) a spectral element disposed proximate the modulator, the spectral element being configured to filter said source light pulses for a spectral range of interest of the target material;

(d) a beamsplitter being configured to split said source light pulses, once said source light pulses have been reflected by the target material, into a first portion of reflected light pulses and a second portion of reflected light pulses;

(e) an optical filter mechanism disposed to receive the first portion of reflected light pulses, the optical filter mechanism being configured to optically filter data carried by the first portion of reflected light pulses into at least one orthogonal component;

(f) a first detector mechanism in communication with the optical filter mechanism to measure the orthogonal component of the data carried by the first portion of reflected light pulses;

(g) a second detector mechanism being configured to receive a second portion of reflected light pulses and to measure the property of the data carried by the second portion of reflected light pulses;

(h) an accelerometer being configured to control data acquisition, such that said first detector mechanism and said second detector mechanism use, for calculation purposes, only those of said reflected light pulses as are produced during a period of time when the target material is in proximity to the interrogation window; and

(i) a computer being configured to continuously generate a ratio of the orthogonal component of the data carried by the first portion of reflected light pulses and the data carried by the second portion of reflected light pulses and to continuously average, over a period of time, the generated ratios to provide a rolling average of the chosen property of the target material.

13. The optical analysis system of claim 12, wherein the chosen property is selected from the group consisting of a reaction product content, a nutrient content, a moisture content, a fat content, a protein content, a carbohydrate content, a pharmaceutical characteristic, an alcohol content, a cholesterol content, and combinations thereof.

14. The optical analysis system of claim 12, wherein the period of time in step (i) is up to 60 minutes.

15. The optical analysis system of claim 12, wherein the optical analysis system further comprises a window cleaning system, said window cleaning system being located within the container proximate to the interrogation window.

16. A system and method of using multivariate optical computing in real-time or at high speed for determining information about a sample from light interacting with the sample by averaging an instantaneous measurement result of the sample.