QEMSCAN
Encyclopedia
QEMSCAN is the name for an integrated automated mineralogy and petrography
solution providing quantitative analysis of minerals, rocks
and man-made materials. QEMSCAN is an abbreviation standing for Quantitative Evaluation of Minerals by SCANning electron microscopy, and a registered trademark owned by FEI Company
since 2009. The integrated system comprises a Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) with a large specimen chamber, up to four light-element Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy
(EDS) detectors, and a proprietary software
controlling automated data acquisition. The offline software package iDiscover provides data processing and reporting functionality.
pattern. Low-count energy-dispersive X-ray spectra
(EDX) are generated and provide information on the elemental composition at each measurement point. The elemental composition in combination with back-scattered electron (BSE) brightness and x-ray count rate information is converted into mineral phases . QEMSCAN data includes mineral and calculated chemical assays. By mapping the sample surface, textural properties and contextual information such as particle and mineral grain size and shape, mineral associations, mineral liberation, elemental deportment, porosity
, and matrix density
are captured and can be reported numerically. Data processing capabilities include combining multiple phases into mineral groups, resolving mixed spectra (boundary phase processing), image-based filtering, and particle-based classification. Quantitative reports can be generated for any selected number of samples, and for particle classes sharing similar compositional and/or textural attributes, such as size fractions or rock types.
conditions and the electron beam. Common sample types include 30 mm resin-impregnated blocks of drill cuttings
and ore
, thin section
s of drill core and rocks
, as well as soil
samples. Very small particles such as atmospheric dust
are often measured on carbon tape or filter paper. Coal
samples are often mounted in carnauba wax
offering sufficient contrast to allow the measurement of both coal and inorganic phases.
, weathering
products such as regolith
and soil
s, and most man-made materials. As a result it has commercial and scientific applications in mining
and mineral processing
; O&G
; coal
; environmental sciences; forensic geosciences
; archaeology
; agribusiness
; built environment
and planetary geology
.
analysis solution designed for onsite integration into advanced mudlogging
services (AML). The product platform is based on a rugged and mobile Scanning Electron Microscope
(SEM) equipped with Dual Energy Dispersive X-ray spectrometers
(EDS) and QEMSCAN automated petrography capabilities. In contrast to laboratory-based QEMSCAN systems, RoqSCAN WellSite provides near-real time data acquisition (<1 hour from wet sample collection to processed data). Data output includes micron-scale petrographic images for each sample, modal mineralogy including clay typing (swelling clays, radioactive clays, glauconite/micas) and trace minerals (pyrite, apatite, other heavy and/or indicator minerals), average quartz grain size, matrix density (calculated),and elemental chemistry and ratios (calculated). Quantitative reports can be generated for any selected sample sequence for either digitally screened genuine cuttings or selected lithology
classes.
Automated mineralogy
Automated mineralogy is a generic term describing a range of analytical solutions, areas of commercial enterprise, and a growing field of scientific research and engineering applications involving largely automated and quantitative analysis of minerals, rocks and man-made...
solution providing quantitative analysis of minerals, rocks
Rock (geology)
In geology, rock or stone is a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals and/or mineraloids.The Earth's outer solid layer, the lithosphere, is made of rock. In general rocks are of three types, namely, igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic...
and man-made materials. QEMSCAN is an abbreviation standing for Quantitative Evaluation of Minerals by SCANning electron microscopy, and a registered trademark owned by FEI Company
FEI Company
FEI Company , founded in 1971, is an American supplier of electron microscopy tools to researchers, developers and manufacturers working on the nanoscale. Headquartered in Hillsboro, Oregon, the company employs 1,770 people worldwide....
since 2009. The integrated system comprises a Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) with a large specimen chamber, up to four light-element Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy
Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy
Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy is an analytical technique used for the elemental analysis or chemical characterization of a sample. It relies on the investigation of an interaction of a some source of X-ray excitation and a sample...
(EDS) detectors, and a proprietary software
Proprietary software
Proprietary software is computer software licensed under exclusive legal right of the copyright holder. The licensee is given the right to use the software under certain conditions, while restricted from other uses, such as modification, further distribution, or reverse engineering.Complementary...
controlling automated data acquisition. The offline software package iDiscover provides data processing and reporting functionality.
Mineral Identification and Quantification
QEMSCAN creates mineral compositional maps of a specimen surface scanned by a high-energy accelerating electron beam along a predefined raster scanRaster scan
A raster scan, or raster scanning, is the rectangular pattern of image capture and reconstruction in television. By analogy, the term is used for raster graphics, the pattern of image storage and transmission used in most computer bitmap image systems...
pattern. Low-count energy-dispersive X-ray spectra
Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy
Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy is an analytical technique used for the elemental analysis or chemical characterization of a sample. It relies on the investigation of an interaction of a some source of X-ray excitation and a sample...
(EDX) are generated and provide information on the elemental composition at each measurement point. The elemental composition in combination with back-scattered electron (BSE) brightness and x-ray count rate information is converted into mineral phases . QEMSCAN data includes mineral and calculated chemical assays. By mapping the sample surface, textural properties and contextual information such as particle and mineral grain size and shape, mineral associations, mineral liberation, elemental deportment, porosity
Porosity
Porosity or void fraction is a measure of the void spaces in a material, and is a fraction of the volume of voids over the total volume, between 0–1, or as a percentage between 0–100%...
, and matrix density
Density
The mass density or density of a material is defined as its mass per unit volume. The symbol most often used for density is ρ . In some cases , density is also defined as its weight per unit volume; although, this quantity is more properly called specific weight...
are captured and can be reported numerically. Data processing capabilities include combining multiple phases into mineral groups, resolving mixed spectra (boundary phase processing), image-based filtering, and particle-based classification. Quantitative reports can be generated for any selected number of samples, and for particle classes sharing similar compositional and/or textural attributes, such as size fractions or rock types.
Sample types
QEMSCAN is routinely employed in the analysis of rock- and ore-forming minerals. Sample preparation requirements include a level, dry specimen surface, coated with a thin electrically conductive layer (e.g. carbon). The sample must be stable under high vacuumVacuum
In everyday usage, vacuum is a volume of space that is essentially empty of matter, such that its gaseous pressure is much less than atmospheric pressure. The word comes from the Latin term for "empty". A perfect vacuum would be one with no particles in it at all, which is impossible to achieve in...
conditions and the electron beam. Common sample types include 30 mm resin-impregnated blocks of drill cuttings
Drill cuttings
Drill cuttings are the broken bits of solid material removed from a borehole drilled by rotary, percussion, or auger methods. Boreholes drilled in this way include oil or gas wells, water wells, and holes drilled for geotechnical investigations or mineral exploration.The drill cuttings are commonly...
and ore
Ore
An ore is a type of rock that contains minerals with important elements including metals. The ores are extracted through mining; these are then refined to extract the valuable element....
, thin section
Thin section
In optical mineralogy and petrography, a thin section is a laboratory preparation of a rock, mineral, soil, pottery, bones, or even metal sample for use with a polarizing petrographic microscope, electron microscope and electron microprobe. A thin sliver of rock is cut from the sample with a...
s of drill core and rocks
Rock (geology)
In geology, rock or stone is a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals and/or mineraloids.The Earth's outer solid layer, the lithosphere, is made of rock. In general rocks are of three types, namely, igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic...
, as well as soil
Soil
Soil is a natural body consisting of layers of mineral constituents of variable thicknesses, which differ from the parent materials in their morphological, physical, chemical, and mineralogical characteristics...
samples. Very small particles such as atmospheric dust
Dust
Dust consists of particles in the atmosphere that arise from various sources such as soil dust lifted up by wind , volcanic eruptions, and pollution...
are often measured on carbon tape or filter paper. Coal
Coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
samples are often mounted in carnauba wax
Carnauba wax
Carnauba , also called Brazil wax and palm wax, is a wax of the leaves of the palm Copernicia prunifera, a plant native to and grown only in the northeastern Brazilian states of Piauí, Ceará, and Rio Grande do Norte. It is known as "queen of waxes" and usually comes in the form of hard yellow-brown...
offering sufficient contrast to allow the measurement of both coal and inorganic phases.
Software Suite
QEMSCAN consists of proprietary software package iDiscover which consists of four software modules:- Datastore Explorer - Data management module
- iMeasure - Measurement module, SEM and EDS control
- iExplorer - Data processing and classification tools, mineral database management, reports
- SIP editor - phase identification protocol
Measurement Modes
QEMSCAN consists of five customisable measurement modes- BMA Bulk Mineralogical Analysis
- PMA Particle Mineralogical Analysis
- SMS Specific Mineral Search
- TMS Trace Mineral Search
- Field Image surface imaging mode
Applications
QEMSCAN measurements can be applied in quantitative mineral characterisation of rocksRock (geology)
In geology, rock or stone is a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals and/or mineraloids.The Earth's outer solid layer, the lithosphere, is made of rock. In general rocks are of three types, namely, igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic...
, weathering
Weathering
Weathering is the breaking down of rocks, soils and minerals as well as artificial materials through contact with the Earth's atmosphere, biota and waters...
products such as regolith
Regolith
Regolith is a layer of loose, heterogeneous material covering solid rock. It includes dust, soil, broken rock, and other related materials and is present on Earth, the Moon, some asteroids, and other terrestrial planets and moons.-Etymology:...
and soil
Soil
Soil is a natural body consisting of layers of mineral constituents of variable thicknesses, which differ from the parent materials in their morphological, physical, chemical, and mineralogical characteristics...
s, and most man-made materials. As a result it has commercial and scientific applications in mining
Mining
Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth, from an ore body, vein or seam. The term also includes the removal of soil. Materials recovered by mining include base metals, precious metals, iron, uranium, coal, diamonds, limestone, oil shale, rock...
and mineral processing
Mineral processing
In the field of extractive metallurgy, mineral processing, also known as mineral dressing or ore dressing, is the process of separating commercially valuable minerals from their ores.-History:...
; O&G
Petroleum
Petroleum or crude oil is a naturally occurring, flammable liquid consisting of a complex mixture of hydrocarbons of various molecular weights and other liquid organic compounds, that are found in geologic formations beneath the Earth's surface. Petroleum is recovered mostly through oil drilling...
; coal
Coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
; environmental sciences; forensic geosciences
Forensics
Forensic science is the application of a broad spectrum of sciences to answer questions of interest to a legal system. This may be in relation to a crime or a civil action...
; archaeology
Archaeology
Archaeology, or archeology , is the study of human society, primarily through the recovery and analysis of the material culture and environmental data that they have left behind, which includes artifacts, architecture, biofacts and cultural landscapes...
; agribusiness
Agribusiness
In agriculture, agribusiness is a generic term for the various businesses involved in food production, including farming and contract farming, seed supply, agrichemicals, farm machinery, wholesale and distribution, processing, marketing, and retail sales....
; built environment
Built environment
The term built environment refers to the human-made surroundings that provide the setting for human activity, ranging in scale from personal shelter and buildings to neighborhoods and cities that can often include their supporting infrastructure, such as water supply or energy networks.The built...
and planetary geology
Planetary geology
Planetary geology, alternatively known as astrogeology or exogeology, is a planetary science discipline concerned with the geology of the celestial bodies such as the planets and their moons, asteroids, comets, and meteorites...
.
RoqSCAN & QEMSCAN WellSite
RoqSCAN WellSite is a mobile drill cuttingsDrill cuttings
Drill cuttings are the broken bits of solid material removed from a borehole drilled by rotary, percussion, or auger methods. Boreholes drilled in this way include oil or gas wells, water wells, and holes drilled for geotechnical investigations or mineral exploration.The drill cuttings are commonly...
analysis solution designed for onsite integration into advanced mudlogging
Mud logging
Mud logging, also known as hydrocarbon well logging, is the creation of a detailed record of a borehole by examining the bits of rock or sediment brought to the surface by the circulating drilling medium . Mud logging is usually performed by a third-party mud logging company...
services (AML). The product platform is based on a rugged and mobile Scanning Electron Microscope
Scanning electron microscope
A scanning electron microscope is a type of electron microscope that images a sample by scanning it with a high-energy beam of electrons in a raster scan pattern...
(SEM) equipped with Dual Energy Dispersive X-ray spectrometers
Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy
Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy is an analytical technique used for the elemental analysis or chemical characterization of a sample. It relies on the investigation of an interaction of a some source of X-ray excitation and a sample...
(EDS) and QEMSCAN automated petrography capabilities. In contrast to laboratory-based QEMSCAN systems, RoqSCAN WellSite provides near-real time data acquisition (<1 hour from wet sample collection to processed data). Data output includes micron-scale petrographic images for each sample, modal mineralogy including clay typing (swelling clays, radioactive clays, glauconite/micas) and trace minerals (pyrite, apatite, other heavy and/or indicator minerals), average quartz grain size, matrix density (calculated),and elemental chemistry and ratios (calculated). Quantitative reports can be generated for any selected sample sequence for either digitally screened genuine cuttings or selected lithology
Lithology
The lithology of a rock unit is a description of its physical characteristics visible at outcrop, in hand or core samples or with low magnification microscopy, such as colour, texture, grain size, or composition. It may be either a detailed description of these characteristics or be a summary of...
classes.
History
- 1970s CSIRO Australia devised a way to automatically use Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopyEnergy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopyEnergy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy is an analytical technique used for the elemental analysis or chemical characterization of a sample. It relies on the investigation of an interaction of a some source of X-ray excitation and a sample...
technology and a Scanning Electron MicroscopeScanning electron microscopeA scanning electron microscope is a type of electron microscope that images a sample by scanning it with a high-energy beam of electrons in a raster scan pattern...
to accurately image and identify minerals in ore samples. This technology became patented and known as QEM*SEM (Quantitative Evaluation of Minerals by Scanning Electron Microscopy) - 1980s New digitalDigitalA digital system is a data technology that uses discrete values. By contrast, non-digital systems use a continuous range of values to represent information...
hardware and software developments by CSIRO allowed for automated analysis of multiple samples, creation of particle images form which mineralogy, texture and metallurgical parameters can be extracted and quantified. - 1990s Light element X-ray detectorsEnergy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopyEnergy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy is an analytical technique used for the elemental analysis or chemical characterization of a sample. It relies on the investigation of an interaction of a some source of X-ray excitation and a sample...
are introduced improving the mineral identification. The Julius Kruttschnitt Mineral Research Centre at the University of QueenslandUniversity of QueenslandThe University of Queensland, also known as UQ, is a public university located in state of Queensland, Australia. Founded in 1909, it is the oldest and largest university in Queensland and the fifth oldest in the nation...
develop the Mineral Liberation Analyzer (MLA) expert software. - 2001 CSIRO announces intention to commercialise QEMSCAN.
- 2003 Intellection Pty Ltd. is founded to develop, market and sell QEMSCAN technology solutions.
- 2009 FEI CompanyFEI CompanyFEI Company , founded in 1971, is an American supplier of electron microscopy tools to researchers, developers and manufacturers working on the nanoscale. Headquartered in Hillsboro, Oregon, the company employs 1,770 people worldwide....
announces the acquisition of selected assets from Intellection Pty Ltd., including the QEMSCAN technology. - 2010, June. Ammtec completes the first "on site" analysis, utilising an "R" series QEMSCAN, at a oil well drilling site in Sumatra, RI.http://www.ammtec.com.au/public_panel/news_article.php?nid=39
- Sep.1, 2010 press release on version 5.0 iDiscover software including a new Spectral Analysis System capable of identifying 72 elements for improved complex mineral composition discrimination.
- Nov.15, 2010 press release on new website launch for QEMSCAN and MLAMLA- Organizations :* Modern Language Association, United States of America** The MLA Style Manual, its works cited page guidelines* Massachusetts Library Association* Medical Library Association, United States...
Automated MineralogyAutomated mineralogyAutomated mineralogy is a generic term describing a range of analytical solutions, areas of commercial enterprise, and a growing field of scientific research and engineering applications involving largely automated and quantitative analysis of minerals, rocks and man-made...
solutions for Natural ResourcesNatural resourceNatural resources occur naturally within environments that exist relatively undisturbed by mankind, in a natural form. A natural resource is often characterized by amounts of biodiversity and geodiversity existent in various ecosystems.... - Apr. 10, 2011 press release on a QEMSCAN inspired portable automated mineralogy system for use at the oil well drilling sites called RoqSCAN developed by Fugro Robertson.
- Aug. 9, 2011 http://www.fugro-robertson.com/roqscan Forest Oil Corporation test Fugro Robertsons RoqSCAN system on a Wolfcamp shale well in West Texas, USA.
- Oct. 19, 2011 press release on introduction of RoqSCAN inspired QEMSCAN WellSite analysis solution, field-tested on onshore and offshore oil platforms in collaboration with leading mudlogging service providers and the oil & gas companies, including HalliburtonHalliburtonHalliburton is the world's second largest oilfield services corporation with operations in more than 70 countries. It has hundreds of subsidiaries, affiliates, branches, brands and divisions worldwide and employs over 50,000 people....
, Oil Search LimitedOil Search LimitedOil Search Limited is the largest oil and gas exploration and development company incorporated in Papua New Guinea, which operates all of Papua New Guinea's oilfields. Founded in 1929, it is now one of Papua New Guinea's largest companies, and in 2006 was responsible for 13% of Papua New Guinea's...
and Maersk.
External links
- Automated Mineralogy Resources - Online repository for journal papers, conference abstracts, published reports and theses on SEM-EDS based automated mineralogy and petrography applications
- http://automatedmineralogy.blogspot.com/ - Blog on SEM-EDS based automated mineralogy and petrography applications
- FEI Australia website - Natural Resources automated mineralogy and petrography solutions website maintained by FEI CompanyFEI CompanyFEI Company , founded in 1971, is an American supplier of electron microscopy tools to researchers, developers and manufacturers working on the nanoscale. Headquartered in Hillsboro, Oregon, the company employs 1,770 people worldwide....