A national supplier of Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) technology for agribusiness, the Brazilian startup Fine Instrument Technology (FIT) has recently added the oil, cement, and petrochemical industries to its list of priorities. In partnership with the High-Resolution Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy Laboratory (LEAR) at the Institute of Physics of São Carlos – USP (IFSC/USP), the startup developed the SpecFIT-DC equipment (DC, for Dynamic Complexity), dedicated to analyzing porous media or media with dynamic complexity, such as polymer blends.

For the oil industry, the NMR equipment allows for measurements of pore sizes, porosity, and diffusion coefficients, as well as the interaction characteristics between oil or CO2 and the pore walls of reservoir rocks, supporting an estimation of the economic viability of oil exploration or the CO2 storage capacity of a rock formation, which has environmental significance.

"The smaller the pores of the rock and the lower the diffusion between the pores, the more difficult and expensive it will be to extract oil from the rock," explains FIT CEO Daniel Consalter. "The microstructure and physical properties of porous media are highly relevant issues in the oil industry," he adds.

The FIT CEO highlights that the speed of analysis and simplified use are other important aspects of the equipment developed in partnership with USP. "The SpecFIT-DC helps by determining parameters precisely and cleanly, without using chemical reagents in its analyses. Other traditional methods take days and require polluting products like mercury, in addition to demanding specialized labor," he says.

For IFSC/USP professor and LEAR coordinator Tito José Bonagamba (pictured), the partnership with FIT strengthens the necessary effort to transfer scientific knowledge and stimulates innovation for societal development from universities. "The connection between universities and entrepreneurs is one of the fundamental pillars for delivering value to society, promoting its social and economic development. The Brazilian industry and society can make significant progress if they appropriately leverage the knowledge generated in academia, transferring it to collaborating entrepreneurs," he asserts.

According to the professor, successful partnerships are advancing in Brazil through the intense actions of University Innovation Centers and Research Institutes, among which are the USP Innovation Agency (AUSPIN) and the USP Innovation Centers (InovaUSP), structures created for this purpose.

Professor Bonagamba, who also coordinates InovaUSP-Complexo São Carlos, emphasizes that the national equipment presents economic benefits in terms of acquisition and maintenance for all users, both from industry and academia. Furthermore, it has the support of the local academic community working in the field of NMR to assist in the best use of the SpecFIT-DC in their studies. "It's a Brazilian-made device within the reach of our industries, universities, and research institutions."

According to FIT, the equipment may cost up to 50% less than similar imported devices sold in the country.

The first available equipment is already being intensively used for analyses at USP, focusing on a major Brazilian industrial sector and is available for use by interested companies and research groups.

Rocks: CO2 Reservoirs

Given global climate changes, actively participating in the carbon market has become imperative for the oil industry, which is striving to implement CO2 storage projects in reservoir rocks. "Today, we must not only focus on curbing CO2 emissions, but also on finding a swift and efficient destination for the CO2 already in the atmosphere." Reservoir rocks can become important CO2 storage reservoirs due to their significant porosity and trapping capacity. To understand the space available in rocks for so-called "Geological CO2 Sequestration," the SpecFIT-DC is a perfect fit, says Tito Bonagamba. "Our studies and partnerships are contributing to the future decarbonization of the environment, which may help the Brazilian oil industry to position itself on the urgent path to a low-carbon economy," concludes the professor.

Consalter also states that the SpecFIT-DC, besides opening new possibilities for analysis, is an innovative business model. "Since we can measure CO2 storage capacity, the SpecFIT-DC opens the doors for FIT to the carbon banking market.