CHARACTERIZATION OF CRUDE OIL BY NEAR INFRARED SPECTROSCOPY

1 . A system for evaluating a crude oil sample and calculating indicative properties of a gas oil fraction of the crude oil without first distilling the gas oil fraction from the crude oil, the system comprising:

a near infrared spectrometer;

a non-volatile memory device that stores calculation modules and data;

a processor coupled to the non-volatile memory;

a first calculation module that calculates a near infrared absorbance index from a summation of near infrared spectroscopy absorbance values of the crude oil for peaks detected at a predetermined series of wavenumbers;

a second calculation module that derives the cetane number for the gas oil fraction as a function of the near infrared absorbance index and density of the sample;

a third calculation module that derives the pour point for the gas oil fraction as a function of the near infrared absorbance index and density of the sample;

a fourth calculation module that derives the cloud point for the gas oil fraction as a function of the near infrared absorbance index and density of the sample; and

a fifth calculation module that derives the aniline point for the gas oil fraction as a function of the near infrared absorbance index and density of the sample.

2 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the gas oil boils in the nominal range 180-370° C.

3 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the wavenumber of near infrared spectrum is in the range 4,000-12,821 cm −1 .

4 . A method for evaluating a crude oil sample and calculating indicative properties, the method comprising:

determining the density of the crude oil sample;

subjecting said crude oil sample to near infrared spectroscopy analysis;

calculating a near infrared absorbance index from a summation of near infrared spectroscopy spectra data absorbance values of the crude oil sample for peaks detected at a predetermined series of wavenumbers;

calculating a cetane number as a function of the near infrared absorbance and density of the sample;

calculating pour point as a function of the near infrared absorbance and density of the sample;

calculating a cloud point as a function of the near infrared absorbance and density of the sample; and

calculating an aniline point as a function of the near infrared absorbance and the density of the sample.

5 . The method of claim 4 , wherein the gas oil boils in the nominal range 180-370° C.

6 . The method of claim 4 , wherein the wavenumber of near infrared spectrum is in the range 4,000-12,821 cm −1 .

7 . A system for evaluating a crude oil sample and determining an indicative property, the system comprising:

a near infrared spectrometer;

a non-volatile memory device that stores calculation modules and data, the data including density of the crude oil sample and near infrared spectroscopy absorbance values obtained from the near infrared spectrometer;

a processor coupled to the non-volatile memory;

a first calculation module that calculates a near infrared absorbance index from a summation of near infrared spectroscopy absorbance values of the crude oil for peaks detected at a predetermined series of wavenumbers; and

a second calculation module that calculates the indicative property as a function of the near infrared absorbance index and the density of the sample.

8 . The system of claim 7 , wherein the indicative property is the cetane number.

9 . The system of claim 7 , wherein the indicative property is the pour point.

10 . The system of claim 7 , wherein the indicative property is the cloud point.

11 . The system of claim 7 , wherein the indicative property is the aniline point.

12 . A method for evaluating a crude oil sample and calculating an indicative property, the method comprising:

determining the density of the crude oil sample;

subjecting the crude oil sample to near infrared spectroscopy analysis;

calculating a near infrared absorbance index from a summation of near infrared spectroscopy spectra absorbance values of the crude oil sample for peaks detected at a predetermined series of wavenumbers; and

calculating and recording the indicative property as a function of the near infrared absorbance index and the density of the sample.

13 . The method of claim 12 , wherein the indicative property is the cetane number.

14 . The method of claim 12 , wherein the indicative property is the pour point.

15 . The method of claim 12 , wherein the indicative property is the cloud point.

16 . The method of claim 12 , wherein the indicative property is the aniline point.