# US 11,932,812 B2 · Particles for carriers and tracers

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- Number: US 11,932,812 B2
- Document ID: US11932812B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 17/887,254
- Filed: 2022-08-12
- Published: 2023-03-02
- Granted: 2024-03-19
- Earliest claimed: 2021-08-27
- Assignees: Alchemy Sciences, Inc.
- Applicants: Alchemy Sciences, Inc.
- Inventors: Erick Acosta; Luchao Jin; Shashidhar Rajagopalan
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US11932812B2

## CPC

- C09K 8/92: characterised by their form or by the form of their components, e.g. encapsulated material (C09K8/70 takes precedence)
- C09K 8/72: Eroding chemicals, e.g. acids
- C09K 8/845: {containing inorganic compounds}
- C09K 8/882: {obtained by reactions only involving carbon-to-carbon unsaturated bonds}
- C09K 8/885: {obtained otherwise than by reactions only involving carbon-to-carbon unsaturated bonds}
- E21B 49/00: Testing the nature of borehole walls; Formation testing; Methods or apparatus for obtaining samples of soil or well fluids, specially adapted to earth drilling or wells
- E21B 49/008: {by injection test; by analysing pressure variations in an injection or production test, e.g. for estimating the skin factor (measuring pressure E21B47/06)}
- G01V 3/26: operating with magnetic or electric fields produced or modified either by the surrounding earth formation or by the detecting device (with electromagnetic waves G01V3/30)
- E21B 47/11: using tracers; using radioactivity
- C09K: MATERIALS FOR MISCELLANEOUS APPLICATIONS, NOT PROVIDED FOR ELSEWHERE
- E21B: EARTH OR ROCK DRILLING; OBTAINING OIL, GAS, WATER, SOLUBLE OR MELTABLE MATERIALS OR A SLURRY OF MINERALS FROM WELLS
- G01V: GEOPHYSICS; GRAVITATIONAL MEASUREMENTS; DETECTING MASSES OR OBJECTS; TAGS (means for indicating the location of accidentally buried, e.g. snow-buried, persons A63B29/02)

## Abstract

A process for forming a particle carrier system includes supplying a particle carrier, the particle carrier having a surface and modifying the particle carrier surface to include a first ionic functional group. The process also includes chemically binding the first ionic functional group on the particle carrier surface to a first ionic molecule.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A process for delivery of a first ionic molecule into a subterranean formation comprising:
supplying a particle carrier system, the particle carrier system including a particle carrier, the particle carrier having a surface, the surface including a first ionic functional group, the first ionic functional group chemically bound to the first ionic molecule
wherein the particle carrier is mesoporous, the particle carrier having pore sizes between 2 and 50 nm, wherein pores of the particle carrier include a second ionic functional group and a second ionic molecule is chemically bonded to the pores of the particle carrier;
injecting the particle carrier system into the subterranean formation;
altering a pKa in the subterranean formation to a first release pKa to release the chemical bond between the first ionic functional group and the first ionic molecule; and
altering the pKa in the subterranean formation to a second release pKa to release the chemical bond between the second ionic functional group and the second ionic molecule.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The process of claim 1, wherein the first ionic functional group and the second ionic functional group are different.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

The process of claim 1 wherein the particle carrier is encapsulated by a particle coating.

### Claim 4 (depends on 3)

The process of claim 3 further comprising exposing the coated particle carrier to the temperature of a subterranean formation to a melt temperature and melting the particle coating.

### Claim 5 (depends on 3)

The process of claim 3 further comprising shearing the particle coating, thereby exposing the particle carrier to a subterranean formation fluid.

### Claim 6 (depends on 3)

The process of claim 3 further comprising exposing the coated particle carrier to the pressure of a subterranean formation to a break pressure, thereby breaking the particle coating.

### Claim 7 (depends on 3)

The process of claim 3 further comprising acidifying a subterranean formation fluid, thereby dissolving the particle coating.