Concentration determination using single-peak NMR spectra

1 . A method for production line nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) measurement of a fluid comprising a material having a single resonance frequency, the method comprising:

positioning a reference sample comprising the material and a sample of the fluid within a sensing region of an NMR measurement unit coil of a production line NMR measurement device, and within a magnetic field of a permanent magnet of the production line NMR measurement device, wherein a concentration of the material within the reference sample is of a known value;

performing an NMR measurement comprising feeding at least one radio frequency coil of the production line NMR measurement device with a signal having a spectrum that comprises a characteristic frequency of a nucleus of the material, and generating detection signals indicative of sensed radio frequency emissions associated with the reference sample and the sample of the fluid;

processing the detection signals to provide an NMR spectrum comprising a first peak associated with the material within the reference sample and a second peak associated with the material within the fluid; and

determining a concentration of the material within the fluid based on a relationship between an attribute of the first peak, an attribute of the second peak and the known value.

2 . A system for production line nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) measurement of a fluid comprising a material having a single resonance frequency, the system comprising:

a permanent magnet configured to generate a magnetic field;

an NMR measurement unit coil positioned within the magnetic field;

a reference sample housing configured to hold a reference sample comprising the material at a known concentration;

a fluid conduit configured to hold a sample of the fluid;

at least one radio frequency coil; and

a processor configured to:

control the at least one radio frequency coil to perform an NMR measurement,

process detection signals to provide an NMR spectrum comprising a first peak associated with the material within the reference sample and a second peak associated with the material within the fluid, and

determine a concentration of the material within the fluid based on a relationship between an attribute of the first peak, an attribute of the second peak and the known concentration.

3 . A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform a method for production line nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) measurement of a fluid comprising a material having a single resonance frequency, the method comprising:

positioning a reference sample comprising the material and a sample of the fluid within a sensing region of an NMR measurement unit coil of a production line NMR measurement device, and within a magnetic field of a permanent magnet of the production line NMR measurement device, wherein a concentration of the material within the reference sample is of a known value;

performing an NMR measurement comprising feeding at least one radio frequency coil of the production line NMR measurement device with a signal having a spectrum that comprises a characteristic frequency of a nucleus of the material, and generating detection signals indicative of sensed radio frequency emissions associated with the reference sample and the sample of the fluid;

processing the detection signals to provide an NMR spectrum comprising a first peak associated with the material within the reference sample and a second peak associated with the material within the fluid; and

determining a concentration of the material within the fluid based on a relationship between an attribute of the first peak, an attribute of the second peak and the known value.

4 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the reference sample is positioned within a reference sample housing.

5 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the reference sample and a fluid conduit that holds the fluid sample are surrounded by a single radio frequency coil of the at least one radio frequency coil.

6 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the at least one radio frequency coil comprises a first radio frequency coil that surrounds a fluid conduit holding the fluid sample and a second radio frequency coil that surrounds the reference sample.

7 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the attribute of the first peak is an area associated with the first peak, and the attribute of the second peak is an area associated with the second peak.

8 . The system of claim 2 , wherein the reference sample housing is a capillary housing.

9 . The system of claim 2 , wherein the at least one radio frequency coil comprises a single radio frequency coil that surrounds both the reference sample housing and the fluid conduit.

10 . The system of claim 2 , wherein the at least one radio frequency coil comprises a first radio frequency coil that surrounds the fluid conduit and a second radio frequency coil that surrounds the reference sample housing.

11 . The system of claim 2 , wherein the attribute of the first peak is an area associated with the first peak, and the attribute of the second peak is an area associated with the second peak.

12 . The system of claim 2 , wherein the material having a single resonance frequency is selected from the group consisting of lithium, boron, and sodium.

13 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 3 , wherein the reference sample is positioned within a reference sample housing.

14 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 3 , wherein the reference sample and a fluid conduit that holds the fluid sample are surrounded by a single radio frequency coil of the at least one radio frequency coil.

15 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 3 , wherein the at least one radio frequency coil comprises a first radio frequency coil that surrounds a fluid conduit holding the fluid sample and a second radio frequency coil that surrounds the reference sample.

16 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 3 , wherein the attribute of the first peak is an area associated with the first peak, and the attribute of the second peak is an area associated with the second peak.

17 . The method of claim 4 , wherein the reference sample housing is a capillary housing.

18 . The method of claim 7 , wherein determining the concentration comprises multiplying the known value by a ratio between the area of the second peak and the area of the first peak.

19 . The system of claim 11 , wherein the processor is configured to determine the concentration by multiplying the known concentration by a ratio between the area of the second peak and the area of the first peak.

20 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 13 , wherein the reference sample housing is a capillary housing.