An innovative method for the quantification of small amounts of crude oil in water using a multi-wavelength separation analyzer

Lab-scale core-flooding experiments are widely used as a standard experimental method to study and analyze physio-chemical properties of flowing phases through porous media. In the hydrocarbon extraction industry, core-flooding experiments are used to evaluate different enhanced oil recovery (EOR) strategies. As part of their evaluation, the accurate quantification of small quantities of produced oil at the effluent, is crucial for the correct interpretation of the experimental results. In this study, we present an innovative analytical method, which allows a fast, accurate and, non-destructive measurement for quantifying small quantities of oil in water (3–2500 μl) by implementing the advantages of a multi-wavelength separation analyzer. The presented method provides the user with a high sampling resolution and high precision during the experiment, allowing for the recording of continuous oil production curves.