Natural abundant (17) O NMR in a 1.5-T Halbach magnet.

We present mobile, low-field (17) O NMR as a means for monitoring oxygen in liquids. Whereas oxygen is one of the most important elements, oxygen NMR is limited by a poor sensitivity related to low natural abundance and gyro-magnetic ratio of the NMR active (17) O isotope. Here, we demonstrate (17) O NMR detection at a Larmor frequency of 8.74 MHz in a 1.5-T Halbach neodymium magnet with a home-built digital NMR instrument suitable for large-scale production and in-line monitoring applications. The proposed (17) O NMR sensor may be applied for direct, noninvasive measurements of water content in, for example, oil, manure, or food in automated quality or process control. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

NPK NMR Sensor: Online Monitoring of Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Potassium in Animal Slurry.

Knowledge of the actual content of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium (NPK) in animal slurry is highly important to optimize crop production and avoid environmental pollution when slurry is spread on agricultural fields. Here, we present a mobile, low-field nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) sensor suitable for online monitoring of the NPK content in animal slurry as an alternative to crude estimates or tedious nonspecific, off-site laboratory analysis. The sensor is based on (14)N, (17)O, (31)P, and (39)K NMR in a digital NMR instrument equipped with a 1.5 T Halbach magnet for direct detection of ammonium N, total P, and K and indirect evaluation of the organic N content, covering all practical components of NPK in animal slurry. In correlation studies, the obtained NMR measurements show good agreement with reference measurements from commercial laboratories.

NMR sensor for onboard ship detection of catalytic fines in marine fuel oils.

A mobile, low-field nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) sensor for onboard, inline detection of catalytic fines in fuel oil in the shipping industry is presented as an alternative to onshore laboratory measurements. Catalytic fines (called cat fines) are aluminosilicate zeolite catalysts utilized in the oil cracking process at refineries. When present in fuel oil, cat fines cause abrasive wear of engine parts and may ultimately lead to engine breakdown with large economical consequences, thereby motivating methods for inline measurements. Here, we report on a robust, mobile, and low-cost (27)Al NMR sensor for continuous online measurement of the level of catalytic fines in fuel oil onboard ships. The sensor enables accurate measurements of aluminum (catalytic fines) in ppm concentrations in good agreement with commercial laboratory reference measurements.