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Scales in the petroleum industry: phase identification

Background

Petroleum products are essential to the world's operation. In order to keep the petroleum industries flowing, scale buildup must be reduced. Whether your interest is in scales, cuttings, cements or muds in the drilling industry; phase identification analysis using X-ray diffraction (XRD) is an important tool in this industry. The primary goal of this application is to quickly identify the phases contained within the sample material.

Investigation

Data collection with the MiniFlex combined with data reduction and Search/Match analysis using the Jade software package made simple work out of this material. Using known reference standards from the International Centre for Diffraction Data (ICDD) database, the peak positions may be used to determine the phases contained with the analyzed material. Shown in the X-ray diffraction pattern below is a sample that is primarily comprised of calcite. However, without careful evaluation one might miss the muscovite. The left zoom picture shows the 100% line of the muscovite contained in the sample.

 

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