Importance

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Abstract

A computer-implemented method and corresponding system for determining the concentration of one or more scale inhibiting polymers in a fluid received from one or more porous and permeable hydrocarbon-bearing rock formations is provided. Each polymer comprises a different chemical marker and the fluid comprises a plurality of commingled said scale inhibiting polymers. The method comprises receiving first input data representing a measured absorption spectrum, within a predetermined wavelength range, of the commingled scale inhibiting polymers, wherein the measured absorption spectrum is measured using a detector after chromatographic separation of the fluid; receiving second input data representing reference absorption spectra, the reference absorption spectra comprising: a) an absorption spectrum, over the predetermined wavelength range, of each of the scale inhibiting polymers; and b) baseline reference absorption spectra of other chemicals having absorbance values within the predetermined wavelength range that are expected to be present in the fluid; inputting the first and second input data into a computer program; and operating the computer program. The computer program is operated to, at each of a plurality of discrete time steps over an elution time from the separation, determine a factor for each reference absorption spectrum that results in a modelled spectrum comprising a best-fit linear combination of the second input data to the first input data. For each scale inhibiting polymer, the computer program also operates to use the factors corresponding to the absorption spectrum of said scale inhibiting polymer that have been determined for a predetermined number of said discrete time steps to determine an indication of the concentration of the scale inhibiting polymer.

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First Claim