WS-CRDS for Energy Exploration
Engineers prospecting for new gas and oil fields often produce mud gas samples as part of the preliminary drilling process. Clearly it's vitally important to know if the hydrocarbon content is of fossil origin or from more recent biomass. This can be done by combusting the mud gas to CO2. The δ13C isotope ratio of the CO2 will then reveal the origin(s) of the hydrocarbon content. Picarro WS-CRDS isotope CO2 analyzers are ideal for this application because they are easily integrated into the combustion equipment, particularly when compared to traditional alternatives such as IRMS (isotope ratio mass spectrometers). Specifically, our WS-CRDS isotope analyzers are compact, rugged and can operate for months without requiring recalibration. In addition, the CO2 stream can be introduced directly to the analyzer with no sample prep required and no need to remove moisture or other gas constituents. Integration is further simplified because of the fully-featured communications interface which includes both Ethernet and serial protocols.