Supercritical fluid contamination monitor
First Claim
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1. A system for detecting the presence of contaminants in a supercritical fluid, said system comprising:
- a conduit containing supercritical fluid;
sampling means connected to said conduit for removing supercritical fluid from said conduit to provide a sample stream;
a vessel having walls defining a contaminant measurement zone;
means for introducing said sample stream from said sampling means into said measurement zone;
an absorbent module comprising an absorbent material located within said measurement zone wherein said absorbent material comprises zeolite and is capable of selectively absorbing contaminants from said sample stream, said absorbent module having an electrical property which varies depending upon the amount of contaminant which is absorbed therein; and
electrical property measurement means for measuring the electrical property through said absorbent module to thereby provide for detection of contaminants present in said sample stream of supercritical fluid.
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Abstract
A system and method for detecting the presence of contaminants in supercritical fluid. The system is based upon the use of an absorbent module comprising an absorbent which selectively absorbs the contaminant being measured and wherein the electrical properties (i.e. conductance and/or capacitance) of the absorbent varies depending upon the amount of contaminant absorbed. A sample stream of the supercritical fluid is contacted with the absorbent material. By measuring the electrical properties of the absorbent, contaminant levels are measured and monitored.
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Citations
11 Claims
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1. A system for detecting the presence of contaminants in a supercritical fluid, said system comprising:
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a conduit containing supercritical fluid; sampling means connected to said conduit for removing supercritical fluid from said conduit to provide a sample stream; a vessel having walls defining a contaminant measurement zone; means for introducing said sample stream from said sampling means into said measurement zone; an absorbent module comprising an absorbent material located within said measurement zone wherein said absorbent material comprises zeolite and is capable of selectively absorbing contaminants from said sample stream, said absorbent module having an electrical property which varies depending upon the amount of contaminant which is absorbed therein; and electrical property measurement means for measuring the electrical property through said absorbent module to thereby provide for detection of contaminants present in said sample stream of supercritical fluid. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. A method for detecting the presence of contaminants in supercritical fluid comprising the steps of:
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providing a supercritical fluid; contacting a portion of said supercritical fluid with an absorbent material comprising zeolite wherein the absorbent material has an electrical property and wherein the electrical property of said absorbent material varies depending upon the amount of said contaminants absorbed therein; and measuring the electrical property of said absorbent material to thereby provide for detection of said contaminants in said supercritical fluid. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11)
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Specification