Eastman Chemical Company

North Carolina State University

S M Bedarul Islam

Nick Allen Collins

Phillip Michael Cook

Ronald Buford Sheppard

Koushik Ghosh

Saad A Khan

Steven Anthony Wilson

Jos Simon De Wit

Brian Douglas Seiler

Jeremy Kenneth Steach

Gregory N Parsons

Orlando J Rojas

Anurodh Tripathi

Jacob Donald Goodrich

Mechanically strong, biodegradable and reusable aerogels are disclosed, which can be made with a cross-linked cellulose ester, and which exhibit a low density and high porosity. The aerogels disclosed herein may be used as sorbent materials and can be modified with a hydrophobic and/or oleophilic agent.

Cellulose acetate aerogels

Suspension of proppants in hydraulic fracturing applications can be strongly affected by the cross-sectional shapes and lengths of the fibers present in the wellbore treatment compositions. For instance, it has been observed that crimped cellulose ester fibers with a trilobal cross-section and an optimized length can provide enhanced suspension of proppants in aqueous fracturing fluids. Furthermore, the present invention demonstrates that non-round cellulose ester fibers can provide superior proppant suspension properties relative to polylactic acid fibers with a round cross-section.

Fiber configurations for wellbore treatment compositions

A fiber delivery system capable of providing cut fiber segments for use in treating an oil and/or gas well. The fiber delivery system can utilize bales of a continuous filamentary tow that are transported to the well site from a remote manufacturing location. At the well site, a multifilament strand can be pulled off the bale, opened, and cut to provide cut fiber segments. The cut fiber segments can be mixed with other well treatment components to create a well treatment medium that is introduced into the well as part of a drilling, stimulation, or cementing process.

Well treatment fiber delivery system

Growing community of inventors

Kingsport, TN, United States of America

S M Bedarul Islam