Quidnet Energy, Inc.

William Marsh Rice University

Other

Si Diamond Technology, Inc.

Schmidt Instruments, Inc.

Southwest Research Institute

Microelectronics and Computer Corporation

Schmidt, Howard K.

Howard K Schmidt

Aaron H Mandell

Robert H Hauge

W Carter Kittrell

Scott Wright

James Mitchell Tour

Dmitry Kosynkin

Myung Jong Kim

Nalin Kumar

Nolan Walker Nicholas

Richard E Smalley

Jay R Lomeda

Christo Pavel Bojkov

Condell D Doyle

Leif Goran Fredin

Chenggang Xie

Andrew Ross Barron

J Albert Schultz

Michael P Stewart

Haiqing Peng

Elizabeth Whitsitt

Wen-Fang Hwang

Micah J Green

Ramon Colorado, Jr

Kent Edward Coulter

Matteo Pasquali

Zhenning Gu

Yuhuang Wang

Kirk Jeremy Ziegler

Christopher A Dyke

Ya-Qiong Xu

W Edward Billups

Robin E Anderson

Hongwei Shan

Valerie C Moore

Sean T Pheasant

Cary L Pint

A Nicholas G Parra-Vasquez

Manuel Joao Mendes

Urs Rauwald

Douglas C Ogrin

Keith D Jamison

Henry Lau

Bunker Hill

Natneal Behabtu

Hua Fan

Virginia Davis

Colin C Young

Energy may be stored by injecting fluid into a fracture in the earth and producing the fluid back while recovering power and/or desalinating water. The method may be particularly adapted to storage of large amounts of energy such as in grid-scale electric energy systems. The fracture may be formed and treated with resin so as to limit fluid loss and to increase propagation pressure. The fluid may be water containing a dissolved salt or fresh water and a portion or all of the water may be desalinated using pressure in the water when it is produced.

Hydraulic geofracture energy storage system and associated methods

A system and method for geothermal resource development which comprises generating a plunging fracture at a wellbore using a dense fracture fluid. In one embodiment a compliant elastic material may be pushed to the propagating tips of fractures where they screen out the fracture tip and stop fracture propagation. The method may further comprise injecting additional fluid to increase the net pressure in the fracture, thereby increasing the width of the fracture. The system may further comprise providing a heat exchanger disposed about the bottom of the wellbore or providing an apparatus for circulating water into the fracture in order to address natural convection occurring in the fracture.

Geothermal system and method

Materials for manipulating hydraulic fracture geometry. In one embodiment, the materials comprises a tip screen-out mixture, which comprises water; a hydrophilic polymer of anionic polyacrylamide, wherein the hydrophilic polymer is hydrolized at least in part; and one or more crosslinking agents selected from a group of compounds consisting of polyvalent metal cations.

Method and materials for manipulating hydraulic fracture geometry

A method for improved borehole completion. In one embodiment, the method comprises removing a section of casing entirely and cutting a notch through the cement and into the surrounding rock formation, wherein the notch optimally comprise a symmetric triangle terminating in a sharp point oriented perpendicular to the casing axis. Flow may be further optimized by extending the notch as far as practical into the rock matrix to increase the effective diameter of the wellbore and increase the length of the intersection between the fracture and the wellbore.

Method for borehole completion

Compositions are provided for preventing or alleviating loss of fluids from natural or artificial reservoirs formed in subterranean geological formations and methods for deployment of said compositions. The compositions can be delivered to the subterranean reservoirs in any number of steps and are comprised of rock surface adhesion promoter(s), particles that may consist of solids, gels and liquids, crosslinking agent(s) and a liquid medium. The method of the invention uses the composition of the invention in preventing or alleviating loss of fluid stored in a reservoir existing in a subterranean formation. In the method, the composition is preferably provided in a series of weighted or unweighted 'pills' for introduction into the reservoir. Such a series may include from one to any number of consecutive treatments. Multiple pills or treatments may be used if needed.

Mitigation of fluid loss from underground reservoirs by electrostatically-driven assembly of particles

A method for generating self-propped hydraulic fractures. In one embodiment, the method comprises injecting three fluid stages sequentially, each with successively higher viscosity, comprising a pad, a sealing slurry, and a displacement fluid which may be referred to as a sweep. Compositions of each of the three fluid stages are provided, each of which may be selected based upon characteristics of the formation being treated or upon one or more characteristics of the desired fracture.

Method for generating self-propped hydraulic fractures

Hydraulic geofracture energy storage system with desalination

A method for manipulating hydraulic fracture geometry. In one embodiment, the method comprises injecting a fracturing fluid into a well to generate one or more hydraulic fractures in a subsurface rock formation and then substantially draining any fluids from the one or more hydraulic fractures. The method may further comprise injecting a hydrophilic polymer and one or more crosslinking agents into the well to subsequently form low-density hydrogels which may then screen out only each tip of the one or more hydraulic fractures. A working fluid may then be injected into the well to increase fracture width of the one or more hydraulic fractures without substantially increasing fracture length. In an alternative embodiment, the hydrophilic polymer may be fully crosslinked by the one or more crosslinking agents and injected as pre-formed particle gels (PPGs) which may also screen out only each tip of the one or more hydraulic fractures.

Carbon nanotubes grown on nanostructured flake substrates are disclosed. The nanostructured flake substrates include a catalyst support layer and at least one catalyst layer. Carbon nanotubes grown on the nanostructured flake substrates can have very high aspect ratios. Further, the carbon nanotubes can be aligned on the nanostructured flake substrates. Through routine optimization, the nanostructured flake substrates may be used to produce single-wall, double-wall, or multi-wall carbon nanotubes of various lengths and diameters. The nanostructured flake substrates produce very high yields of carbon nanotubes per unit weight of substrate. Methods for making the nanostructured flake substrates and for using the nanostructured flake substrates in carbon nanotube synthesis are disclosed.

Carbon nanotubes grown on nanostructured flake substrates and methods for production thereof

Energy is stored by injecting fluid into a hydraulic fracture in the earth and producing the fluid back while recovering power and/or desalinating water. The method is particularly adapted to storage of large amounts of energy such as in grid-scale electric energy systems. The hydraulic fracture may be formed and treated with resin so as to limit fluid loss and to increase propagation pressure. The fluid may be water containing a dissolved salt or fresh water and a portion or all of the water may be desalinated using pressure in the water when it is produced.

Hydraulic geofracture energy storage system with desalinization

According to some embodiments, the present invention provides a system and method for supporting a carbon nanotube array that involve an entangled carbon nanotube mat integral with the array, where the mat is embedded in an embedding material. The embedding material may be depositable on a carbon nanotube. A depositable material may be metallic or nonmetallic. The embedding material may be an adhesive material. The adhesive material may optionally be mixed with a metal powder. The embedding material may be supported by a substrate or self-supportive. The embedding material may be conductive or nonconductive. The system and method provide superior mechanical and, when applicable, electrical, contact between the carbon nanotubes in the array and the embedding material. The optional use of a conductive material for the embedding material provides a mechanism useful for integration of carbon nanotube arrays into electronic devices.

Embedded arrays of vertically aligned carbon nanotube carpets and methods for making them

Growing community of inventors

Cypress, TX, United States of America

Howard K Schmidt