Pre-dosed Vial Water Contaminant Testing System
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current on-site chemical testing kits for water quality monitoring in oilfields face limitations such as limited dynamic range, requiring time-consuming dilutions, needing specialized training, and being prone to accuracy issues due to variability, which can lead to cross-contamination and increased costs, especially during fracturing operations.
Innovation Solution
A system and method for quickly detecting and quantifying analytes in liquids using pre-dosed vials with solid or freeze-dried reagents that react with the sample to generate chromogenic or fluorescent signals, which are then measured using a detection instrument capable of converting light signals into electronic signals, reducing the need for training and reactive reagents.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If traditional chemical testing kits are used for on-site water monitoring, then specialized training and time-consuming reagent handling are required, but this increases operational complexity and reduces testing speed
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs pre-packaged disposable test vials containing all necessary reagents in frozen or dried form. Each vial is designed for single-use, eliminating the need for operators to handle, store, or prepare reagents. The vial includes pre-measured reagent quantities and contains instructions, making the entire testing process foolproof and eliminating training requirements while maintaining accuracy.
Solution Approach 2:
All reagent preparation, measurement, and mixing steps are performed in advance during manufacturing. The reagents are pre-portioned, pre-mixed, and sealed in the vial in their optimal configuration. This preliminary action eliminates all preparation steps during actual testing, reducing operational complexity to simply adding the water sample and reading the result.
2Measurement precision
If traditional chemical testing kits with liquid reagents are used, then dynamic range is limited and dilutions are required, but this increases testing time and reduces productivity
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extends the dynamic range by incorporating multiple reagent formulations within the same vial system, each optimized for different concentration ranges. The vial can contain reagents that automatically adapt to various analyte concentrations, or the system can select appropriate reagent combinations based on preliminary measurements. This eliminates the need for manual dilutions while maintaining precision across a wide concentration spectrum.
Solution Approach 2:
The test vial design incorporates multiple functional components: different reagent compartments for various analytes, automatic mixing mechanisms, and detection zones for multiple parameters. A single vial can perform multiple tests simultaneously or provide a broad dynamic range for a single analyte, eliminating the need for separate kits for different concentration ranges and eliminating dilution steps.
3Reliability
If traditional chemical testing kits are used, then cross-contamination risks increase during operations, but this compromises water quality monitoring reliability
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the testing system into completely separate, disposable units. Each test vial is hermetically sealed and contains all reagents in isolated compartments until the moment of testing. After use, the entire vial is discarded, eliminating any possibility of cross-contamination between samples or carryover of reagents. This segmentation approach ensures that each test is performed in a completely clean environment.
4Measurement precision
If traditional chemical testing kits with multiple preparation steps are used, then time consumption increases, but this causes operational delays during fracturing operations
Solution Approach 1:
The patent eliminates all intermediate preparation steps by delivering the reagents in a ready-to-use state. The frozen or dried reagents require no weighing, no mixing, no storage preparation - they are simply activated by adding the water sample and the reaction proceeds immediately. This skipping of all preparatory steps reduces testing time from potentially hours to minutes while maintaining accuracy through the engineered reagent formulations.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables rapid, precise, and on-site water monitoring with minimal steps and equipment, reducing the risk of cross-contamination and operational delays, while being compatible with a wide range of water samples and conditions.
Implementation Method 1
reagents that will result in a change in color or fluorescence
Implementation Method 2
reagents that will result in a change in color or fluorescence
Implementation Method 3
detection instrument capable of converting light signals into electronic signals
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2A~2C
Figure 3
AI summary
A system for detecting and quantifying an analyte in a liquid includes a vial (802) including one or more pre-dosed reagents (806) disposed in the vial (802). The vial (802) is configured to hold a volume of a liquid (808) including an analyte (810). The one or more pre-dosed reagents are dissolvable in the volume of the liquid (808) to form a sample liquid solution comprising chromophores or fluorophores. The analyte (810) and the one or more pre-dosed reagents react to yield the chromophores or fluorophores. The system further includes a detection device (804) including a chamber (824) configured to retain the vial (802), the detection device configured to quantify the analyte (810) in the sample liquid solution.