Did You Know...
...that the x-ray was discovered purely by accident? When German physicist Wilhelm Konrad von Roentgen was experimenting with cathode rays in 1895, he put an activated Crookes tube in a book and went out to lunch. When he returned, he discovered that a key that had also been placed in the book showed up as an image on the developed film!
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| Number | Title | Issue Date |
| 8186430 | Method and system for extraction of hydrocarbons from oil sands A system and method for extracting hydrocarbon products from oil sands using nuclear energy sources for power to decrease the viscosity of bitumen in oil sands deposits and provide sufficient heat and pressure to produce liquid and gaseous hydrocarbon products. Step... | 05/29/2012 |
| 8127840 | Conductive heating by encapsulated strontium source (CHESS) The present invention deals with a method to liquefy the viscous oil of oil wells and also to clean the paraffin off the walls of tubing and other production equipment. The method consists in using heat produced by a thermal generator, and also using steam produced ... | 03/06/2012 |
| 8122950 | Microwave-based downhole activation method for wellbore consolidation applications Wellbore strengthening during drilling may be achieved by including chemicals in the drilling fluid that can be polymerised when exposed to microwave energy. Selected chemicals are mixed with the drilling fluid but do not react with it. The chemicals concentrate in ... | 02/28/2012 |
| 8025098 | Processing hydrocarbons Systems and methods that include providing, e.g., obtaining or preparing, a material that includes a hydrocarbon carried by an inorganic substrate, and exposing the material to a plurality of energetic particles, such as accelerated charged particles, such as electr... | 09/27/2011 |
| 7980304 | Method and system for extraction of hydrocarbons from oil shale A system and method for extracting hydrocarbon products from oil shale using nuclear energy sources for energy to fracture the oil shale formations and provide sufficient heat and pressure to produce liquid and gaseous hydrocarbon products. Embodiments of the presen... | 07/19/2011 |
| 7931080 | Method and system for extraction of hydrocarbons from oil sands A system and method for extracting hydrocarbon products from oil sands using nuclear energy sources for power to decrease the viscosity of bitumen in oil sands deposits and provide sufficient heat and pressure to produce liquid and gaseous hydrocarbon products. Step... | 04/26/2011 |
| 7891421 | Method and apparatus for in-situ radiofrequency heating A radiofrequency reactor for use in thermally recovering oil and related materials includes a radiofrequency antenna configured to be positioned within a well, where the well is provided within an area in which crude oil exists in the ground. The radiofrequency ante... | 02/22/2011 |
| 7445041 | Method and system for extraction of hydrocarbons from oil shale A system and method for extracting hydrocarbon products from oil shale using nuclear energy sources for energy to fracture the oil shale formations and provide sufficient heat and pressure to produce liquid and gaseous hydrocarbon products. Embodiments of the presen... | 11/04/2008 |
| 7441597 | Method and apparatus for in-situ radiofrequency assisted gravity drainage of oil (RAGD) The present invention relates generally to the use of radiofrequency energy to heat heavy crude oil or both heavy crude oil and subsurface water in situ, thereby enhancing the recovery and handling of such oil. The present invention further relates to methods for ap... | 10/28/2008 |
| 7357180 | Inhibiting effects of sloughing in wellbores Certain embodiments provide a method for treating a subsurface formation. The method includes providing one or more explosives into portions of one or more wellbores selected for the explosion in the formation. The wellbores are formed in one or more zones in the fo... | 04/15/2008 |
| 7270177 | Instrumented packer A technique that is usable with a subterranean well includes communicating a fluid into a region of the well and monitoring a level of the fluid communicated via a downhole sensor. The communication is controlled in response to the monitoring. ... | 09/18/2007 |
| 7268100 | Shale inhibition additive for oil/gas down hole fluids and methods for making and using same An under-balanced drilling fluid additive is disclosed which reduces reactive shale and/or clay swelling during under-balanced drilling operations, where the additive includes an effective amount of a choline salt. A method for under-balanced drilling is also disclo... | 09/11/2007 |
| 7056439 | Process for producing 1, 3-propanediol Disclosed herein are processes for the recovery of 1,3-propanediol from an aqueous feed stream. The present invention involves contacting an aqueous feed stream that comprises water, 1,3-propanediol, and at least one contaminant with at least one solvent extractant ... | 06/06/2006 |
| 7011154 | In situ recovery from a kerogen and liquid hydrocarbon containing formation In an embodiment, a method of treating a kerogen and liquid hydrocarbon containing formation in situ may include providing heat from one or more heat sources to at least a portion of the formation. Heat may be allowed to transfer from the one or more heat sources to... | 03/14/2006 |
| 6953087 | Thermal processing of a hydrocarbon containing formation to increase a permeability of the formation A hydrocarbon containing formation may be treated using an in situ thermal process. A mixture of hydrocarbons, H2, and/or other formation fluids may be produced from the formation. Heat may be applied to the formation to raise a temperature of a portion o... | 10/11/2005 |
| 6916598 | Ionization radiation imageable photopolymer compositions This invention discloses compositions that can be polymerized/crosslinked imagewise upon exposure to ionization radiation such as x-ray, electron beam, ion beam, and gamma-ray. This invention also discloses methods of use for these compositions for microfabrication ... | 07/12/2005 |
| 5969209 | Process and composition for soil remediation Compositions and methods are provided for the decontamination of waste matter, in particular for soil remediation. The methods include making and applying a polymer composition to waste matter and subjecting the waste matter and polymer composition to rad... | 10/19/1999 |
| 5884701 | Dual downhole injection system utilizing coiled tubing A dual injection system for selectively injecting a treating fluid in a predetermined treating zone (16) of a well bore hole (10) adjacent a productive zone (14) with a marker fluid injected from the annulus (36) outside a coiled tubing string (34). The c... | 03/23/1999 |
| 5824214 | Method for hydrotreating and upgrading heavy crude oil during production Heavy crude oil containing at least 1% by weight water is hydrotreated and upgraded while being produced downhole in a production well. During production the heavy crude oil containing water is subjected to sonic energy at a low frequency of 400 Hz to 10 ... | 10/20/1998 |
| 5678239 | Treatment of radioactive material A process for treating naturally occurring radioactive material (NORM) comprises use of NORM as a mud constituent in a drilling mud manufacturing process and particle size reduction of the NORM particles during or before that process to attain a selected ... | 10/14/1997 |
| 5044436 | Steam injection profiling with unstable radioactive isotopes A method of determining relative liquid and vapor phase steam profiles in a steam injection well utilizes an unstable radioactive isotope. A dual detector gamma ray logging tool is inserted into the well at a depth below the perforation zone. The unstable... | 09/03/1991 |
| 5038033 | Method and apparatus for detecting and quantifying radioactive material on tubing in a borehole In order to properly treat the tubing of an oil producing borehole, and prevent hazard to personnel at the oil production site, the contamination of tubing by the formation of scale or radioactive deposits on the inner wall thereof is determined by measur... | 08/06/1991 |
| 4958683 | Method and apparatus for treating wells A method for reducing organic contaminants in a well initially breaks down complex organic compounds by radiation with gamma radiation. The remaining materials are subjected to oxygen radicals in the water, the oxygen radicals reacting with the materials ... | 09/25/1990 |
| 4926940 | Method for monitoring the hydraulic fracturing of a subsurface formation A method for monitoring the hydraulic fracturing of a subsurface formation. The formation is fractured with a fracturing fluid or a proppant containing a characteristic element of the formation which emits delayed gamma rays when activated with neutrons. ... | 05/22/1990 |
| 4765406 | Method of and apparatus for increasing the mobility of crude oil in an oil deposit Test recovery of crude oil by injection of a heat carrier into the oil stum is effected by generating thermal energy in the crude oil deposit or at a location at which a well enters this deposit by carrying out a catalytic methanization reaction and tran... | 08/23/1988 |
| 4638861 | Method for treating the bottom-hole formation zone A method relates to the oil recovery and comprises feeding a bactericidal agent to the bottom-hole zone of a formation being worked, the bactericidal agent comprising gamma-radiation with a dose of at least 150 krad.... | 01/27/1987 |
| 4570718 | Oil level sensor system and method for oil wells A system for controlling production in an oil well comprises a controller for activating the means for causing reciprocation of the sucker-rods; a sensing means secured to the outer surface of the production tubing near the lower end thereof comprising a ... | 02/18/1986 |
| 4487837 | Radiation method for determining brine tolerant surfactants in complex mixtures This invention provides a method for determining the concentration of a brine tolerant sulfonate surfactant in a complex mixture containing, in addition to said brine tolerant sulfonate surfactant, lignosulfonates, crude oil, salts, and water and, optiona... | 12/11/1984 |
| 4273615 | Oil stimulation process A method of converting organic waste into useful petroleum products and for recovering previously unrecoverable residual oil in oil bearing geologic layers. An organic slurry containing obligatory anaerobes is first formed from garbage, sewage and the lik... | 06/16/1981 |
| 4146095 | Method and apparatus for nuclear heating of oil-bearing formations A method and apparatus are provided for using heat generated by absorption of radiation from nuclear waste materials to reduce the viscosity of petroleum products contained within a subsurface earth formation. The nuclear waste material is positioned in a... | 03/27/1979 |
| 4105251 | Dispersion of catalysts with explosives for in situ mining of carbonaceous minerals Disclosed is a process for generating synthetic fuels from carbonaceous minerals such as oil shale and coal by dispersing a catalytic agent by suitable explosive means into carbonaceous deposits. The explosives serve to fracture and rubblize the carbonace... | 08/08/1978 |
| 3987850 | Well completion method for controlling sand production This specification discloses a method of completing a well that penetrates a subterranean formation. The formation is vertically fractured and a lower portion of the fracture is propped by hydraulic fracturing techniques leaving an overlying unpropped por... | 10/26/1976 |
| 3973629 | Injection profiles with radiation induced copolymers The injectivity profile of a heterogeneous formation and/or vertical conformance is improved by injecting an aqueous solution into the formation, the solution containing a polymer obtained as a product of radiation-induced polymerizatin of acrylamide and/... | 08/10/1976 |
| 3932300 | System for disposing of radioactive water A system for reducing radioactivity released to the biosphere in the course of producing natural gas from a reservoir stimulated by the detonation of nuclear explosives therein. Tritiated water produced with the gas is separated out and returned to a nucl... | 01/13/1976 |
