US Government As Represented by the Secretary of the Army

The University of Texas System

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Statoil Gulf Services LLC

Alfred Kleinhammes

Yue Wu

George W Wagner

Pabitra N Sen

Mohsen Ahmadian-Tehrani

Michele O'Callaghan

Hydraulic fracturing of a geological formation is performed by injection of a proppant mixture into the geological formation to form fractures in the geological formation. The proppant mixture includes at least a liquid, proppant, and proppant additive particles. The hydraulic fracturing results in a presence of the proppant additive particles within the formed fractures, wherein the proppant additive particles are configured with a first complex conductivity that is measurably different than a second complex conductivity exhibited by materials comprising the geological formation. The formed fractures can then be imaged and mapped in the geological formation with electromagnetic energy at one or more frequencies in a manner so that the proppant additive particles function as a contrast agent due to the first complex conductivity of the proppant additive particles being measurably different from the second complex conductivity. The complex conductivity includes a real conductivity and an imaginary conductivity.

Proppant additives for hydraulic fracturing

Contrast agents and methods for use in geological applications are provided. Contrast agents can be a nanopolymorph material, such as titania nanotubes, and have a low-frequency dielectric permittivity. Methods of identifying one or more subterranean features during geological exploration are provided. Methods of identifying a ganglion of bypassed oil are provided. Methods of illuminating subterranean fractures in hydraulic fracturing are provided.

Dielectric contrast agents and methods

The invention relates to methods and products enabling decontamination of chemical warfare agents and/or toxic industrial chemicals. More particularly, the invention pertains to improvements of surface decontamination processes using novel sorbents such as nanotubular titania.

Nanotubular titania for decontamination of chemical warfare agents and toxic industrial chemicals

Nanotubular titania for decontamination of chemical warfare agents and toxic industial chemicals

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Chapel Hill, NC, United States of America

Alfred Kleinhammes