The acquisition of new and enhanced technologies that elucidate subterranean fluid flows for geothermal (GT) wells has become a critical need. To that extent, one major challenge that GT systems face is to understand the flow behavior of underground fluid over an extended period of time. To aid in this endeavor, we have developed metal oxide nanoparticles that can be doped with various tracers (i. e., lanthanide ions (Ln3+)) to produce “tagged” nanomaterials (termed T-NP). These T-NP can be loaded into porous ceramic proppants that are used to maintain open cracks in the wells. These T-NP proppants can be strategically distributed in specific reservoirs and based on surface return of the ‘tags’ can be used to determine fluid flows. OF the possible NP matrices, yttrium oxide (Y2O3), was selected since it is the correct size and charge to host a variety of Ln3+, as well as being able to handle the extreme environments the wells may encounter. For this project, we have explored synthetic routes using a variety of precursors, both commercially available and tailored, to synthesize the Y2O3 NP matrices. This poster focuses on production of the Y2O3 matrix from the decomposition of a variety of yttrium precursors, the impact of solvent ratio on the NP morphology of Y(NO3)3*6H2O, the synthesis/characterization of the tailored Y(OR)3 precursors and their conversion to Y2O3 matrix. Sandia National Laboratories is a multi-program laboratory managed and operated by Sandia Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of Lockheed Martin Corporation, for the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration under contract DE-AC04-94AL85000.

Development of lanthanide tagged nanoparticle (T-NP) system for tracking of underground fluid flow

251st National Meeting (2016)

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