# US 10,481,129 B1 · Oil recovery sensor

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- Number: US 10,481,129 B1
- Document ID: US10481129B1
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B1
- Application number: 16/416,561
- Filed: 2019-05-20
- Published: 2019-12-05
- Granted: 2019-11-19
- Earliest claimed: 2018-05-31
- Assignees: Battelle Memorial Institute
- Applicants: Battelle Memorial Institute
- Inventors: Slawomir Winecki; Haskell Jac Fought; Meghan Harley Yugulis; Darwin Argumedo; Robert Stonebraker; William Gibbs
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US10481129B1

## CPC

- G01N 27/025: {a current being generated within the material by induction}
- G01N 27/90: using eddy currents
- G01F 1/74: Devices for measuring flow of a fluid or flow of a fluent solid material in suspension in another fluid
- G01F 1/86: Indirect mass flowmeters, e.g. measuring volume flow and density, temperature or pressure
- G01F 23/263: by measuring variations in capacitance of capacitors
- G01N 27/023: {where the material is placed in the field of a coil}
- G01N 27/08: which is flowing continuously
- G01N 27/221: {by investigating the dielectric properties (using microwaves G01N22/00; measuring loss factors or dielectric constants per se G01R27/26)}
- G01N 33/1833: {Oil in water}
- G01N 33/241: {for hydrocarbon content}
- G01N 33/2823: {Raw oil, drilling fluid or polyphasic mixtures}
- G01R 27/06: Measuring reflection coefficients; Measuring standing-wave ratio
- G01N 33/2847: {Water in oils}
- G01N: INVESTIGATING OR ANALYSING MATERIALS BY DETERMINING THEIR CHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROPERTIES (measuring or testing apparatus or processes other than immunoassay, involving enzymes or microorganisms C12M, C12Q)
- G01F: MEASURING VOLUME, VOLUME FLOW, MASS FLOW OR LIQUID LEVEL; METERING BY VOLUME
- G01R: MEASURING ELECTRIC VARIABLES; MEASURING MAGNETIC VARIABLES (indicating correct tuning of resonant circuits H03J3/12)

## Abstract

The present disclosure relates to systems and methods for measuring oil/water content in oil-water mixtures, regardless of the salinity of the mixture. The oil content is measured using a dielectric sensor. It is determined whether the oil content is above or below a threshold. If the oil content is above the threshold, the oil content is reported using the measurement from the dielectric sensor. If the oil content is below the threshold, the oil content is reported using the measurement from the eddy current sensor.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A system for measuring oil content of a fluid, comprising:
a dielectric sensor, comprising:
a first resonance circuit formed by a first capacitor, a first inductor, and a pair of electrodes adapted to be attached to an associated cavity through which the fluid can flow; and
a first standing wave ratio (SWR) analyzer configured to measure a resonance frequency of the first resonance circuit;
an eddy current sensor, comprising:
a second resonance circuit formed by a second capacitor, and a second inductor configured to produce a magnetic field within the associated cavity; and
a second SWR analyzer configured to measure a height of a peak of a resonance frequency of the second resonance circuit; and
one or more processors configured to:
determine if the oil content is above or below a threshold;
if the oil content is above the threshold, report the oil content using the dielectric sensor; and
if the oil content is below the threshold, report the oil content using the eddy current sensor.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The system of claim 1, wherein the threshold is an oil content of 70 percent.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

The system of claim 1, wherein the threshold is an oil content corresponding to a resonant frequency that allows for distinction between oil-in-water mixtures and water-in-oil mixtures.

### Claim 4 (depends on 1)

The system of claim 1, wherein the threshold is set based on the oil content.

### Claim 5 (depends on 1)

The system of claim 1, wherein an operating frequency of the second SWR analyzer is selected based on: (i) a radius of a pipe of the sensor cavity, and (ii) a conductivity of the fluid.

### Claim 6 (depends on 1)

The system of claim 1, wherein the second inductor is a coil wound around a pipe of the sensor cavity.

### Claim 7 (depends on 1)

The system of claim 1, wherein no coil of the second inductor is in direct electrical contact with the fluid.

### Claim 8 (depends on 1)

The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to make the determination of if the oil content is above or below the threshold by using the dielectric sensor.

### Claim 9 (depends on 1)

The system of claim 1, wherein the eddy current sensor is configured to account for water salinity by calibration of the sensor performed with water at a given salinity.

### Claim 10 (depends on 1)

The system of claim 1, wherein the eddy current sensor is configured to account for water salinity by manual entry of a salinity value.

### Claim 11 (depends on 1)

The system of claim 1, wherein the first inductor, the first capacitor, and the sensor cavity are all connected in parallel.

### Claim 12 (depends on 1)

The system of claim 1, wherein the first capacitor has a capacitance of about 10 pF to about 100 pF, and the first inductor has an inductance of about 0.1 μH to about 2 μH.

### Claim 13 (depends on 1)

The system of claim 1, wherein the second capacitor has a capacitance of about 50 pF to about 700 pF, and the second inductor has an inductance of about 0.1 μH to about 2 μH.

### Claim 14 (depends on 1)

The system of claim 1, further including a U-trap comprising an inlet and an outlet;
wherein the dielectric sensor and the eddy current sensor are mounted in the U-trap: (i) in between the inlet and the outlet, and (ii) below the inlet and the outlet.

### Claim 15 (depends on 14)

The system of claim 14, wherein the system further includes an air passage positioned above the U-trap, and having a smaller diameter than a diameter of the U-trap.

### Claim 16

A method for measuring oil content of a fluid in a cavity, comprising:
using a dielectric sensor, measuring the oil content of the fluid in the cavity;
using one or more processors, determining that the oil content is below a threshold; and
in response to the determination that the oil content is below the threshold, using an eddy current sensor to measure the oil content of the fluid.

### Claim 17 (depends on 16)

The method of claim 16, further comprising:
using the one or more processors, determining that the oil content is above the threshold; and
in response to the determination that the oil content is above the threshold, using the dielectric sensor to measure the oil content of the fluid.

### Claim 18 (depends on 16)

The method of claim 16, wherein the threshold is an oil content of 70 percent.

### Claim 19 (depends on 16)

The method of claim 16, wherein the threshold is an oil content corresponding to a resonant frequency that allows for distinction between oil-in-water mixtures and water-in-oil mixtures.

### Claim 20 (depends on 16)

The method of claim 16, wherein the eddy current sensor comprises:
a resonance circuit formed by a capacitor, an inductor and the cavity, wherein the inductor is configured to expose the fluid within the cavity to a magnetic field; and
a standing wave ratio (SWR) analyzer configured to measure a height of a peak of a resonance frequency of the resonance circuit.

### Claim 21 (depends on 16)

The method of claim 16, further comprising accounting for water salinity by calibrating the eddy current sensor using water at a given salinity.

### Claim 22 (depends on 16)

The method of claim 16, further comprising accounting for water salinity by manually entering a salinity value to the eddy current sensor.

### Claim 23

A system for measuring oil content of a fluid, comprising:
a dielectric sensor, comprising:
a first resonance circuit formed by a first capacitor, a first inductor, and a sensor cavity through which the fluid can flow; and
a first standing wave ratio (SWR) analyzer configured to measure a resonance frequency of the first resonance circuit;
an eddy current sensor, comprising:
a second resonance circuit formed by a second capacitor, and a second inductor, wherein the second inductor is configured to expose fluid within the sensor cavity to a magnetic field; and
a second SWR analyzer configured to measure a height of a peak of a resonance frequency of the second resonance circuit;
at least one processor; and
at least one memory including computer program code;
wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the system to:
determine if the oil content is above or below a threshold;
if the oil content is above the threshold, measure the oil content using the dielectric sensor; and
if the oil content is below the threshold, measure the oil content using the eddy current sensor.