»National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI)
~ the understanding and control of matter at dimensions of roughly 1 to 100 nanometers, where unique phenomena enable novel applications
~ encompassing nanoscale science, engineering and technology, nanotechnology involves imaging, measuring, modeling, and manipulating matter at this length scale
~ at the nanoscale, the physical, chemical, and biological properties of materials differ in fundamental and valuable ways
~ from the properties of individual atoms and molecules or bulk matter
~ nanotechnology R&D is directed toward understanding and creating improved materials, devices, and systems that exploit these new properties
»Scale
~ from 1 nano meter = 10^-9m up to 100 nm = 10 ^-7m = 0.1 micrometer, where 1 micrometer = 1000 nanometers
»What is Nanotechnology?

Nano-scale Semiconductor Manufacturing
~ today's advanced semiconductors are truly nano-scale devices
~ the latest generally-available PC processors feature transistor line-widths as small as 45 nm
~ process development is underway at leading manufacturers for 32 nm, 22 nm, and even smaller geometries
~ scanning electron microscope (SEM) tools have been used for top-down imaging and analysis applications for many years
~ focused ion beam (FIB) tools are used to cross-section samples for SEM imaging and analysis in three dimensions
~ FEI invented DualBeam™ platforms, with SEM and FIB columns, more than a decade ago
~ as geometries shrink, new application methods, tools and techniques are entering the fray
~ Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM) and Scanning TEM (STEM) tools can reach far higher resolutions than traditional SEM tools
~ Titan™ TEM platform has achieved 0.5 Angstrom resolution; just over half the diameter of a Hydrogen atom
~ such atomic-scale imaging is now required for a growing range of advanced semiconductor manufacturing process development and control applications
~ -- crystal strain analysis is one of many examples

»FEI
~ see the photo, the kind of device which has to locate inside a laboratory !
~ nanoresearch strives to increase our understanding of nanostructures and functional materials
~ by linking the macroscopic material properties to the properties at the smallest level of detail: down to atoms
~ this continuing drive pushes for the better understanding of local atom organization and
~ for the characterization of atoms, chemical bonding and even the electronic structure
~ the recognized and ever growing need to truly image and analyze nanostructures with the highest level of detail
~ implies setting new standards for achieving new results in nanoresearch microscopy
~ sub-Ångström aberration-corrected analytical microscopy is the benchmark and presents a new set of rules in this new era
~ Titan obtains a better lateral resolution than 1 Ångström and energy resolution down to 0.1 eV

Nanotechnology Applications for Oil, Gas, Petrochemical
~ the province of Alberta in Canada has the only governmental body in North or South America that has no debt and runs an annual budget surplus!
~ the oil sands are a major contributor to both the provincial budget and the investment and revenue that is driving the rapid growth of the Alberta's economy
~ natural gas and coal provide additional investment and revenue growth and add to the boom
~ while clean energy, solar, wind, biofuels, etc. is a rapidly expanding industry globally (20% of all new VC investment in Silicon Valley was devoted to Clean Energy in the first half of 2007),
~ oil, gas, coal, and oil sands will be the dominant form of energy supply for many decades to come
~ energy technologies have leveraged literally trillions of dollars of investment in the production, distribution,
~ and usage to continual reduce costs and increase efficiency
~ global industrial economy is based on using these energy sources
~ the energy density per unit volume of oil, gas, and coal generally significantly exceeds those of replacement renewable sources,
~ leading to major economic advantages in storage, distribution and use

~ the real impact of nanotechnology on energy production, distribution, and consumption through 2050 at least will be in the traditional energy sector
~ clean energy growth starts from a very small installed based and
~ will still be a small percentage of global energy supply in 2050 - possibly as high as 20% or as low as 5%
~ the Advanced Energy Consortium at the University of Texas at Austin (AEC)
~ plans to develop subsurface nanosensors that can be injected into oil and gas wells
~ these sensors would be forced out of wells, through the existing pore space and into the surrounding formation pore space
~ there they would collect the reservoir's physical characteristics, which could then be used for production optimization studies
~ BP America Inc., ConocoPhillips, Marathon Oil, Occidental, Shell, Schlumberger Technology and Halliburton Energy Services are members
~ project management will be provided by the University of Texas at Austin (UTA)
~ each contributes $1 million research funding per year for the first three years to underwrite the project
~ UTA will own all inventions resulting from the research and each member that contributes will receive a royalty-free,
~ nonexclusive, irrevocable, worldwide perpetual license to use the inventions for noncommercial, internal use
~ they will also have the right to make, use and sell any patented inventions
~ UTA will license rights to third parties with the approval of AEC members
~ AEC
~ nanotech could revolutionize the natural gas industry, from production to processing to pollution reduction
~ nanomaterials are incorporated into a wide variety of hydrocarbon extraction, gas separations, solid-state gas sensors for air pollution monitoring,
~ nanoadsorbent materials for environmental separations and corrosion inhibitors

Forecast:
Enhanced materials
~ inclusion of nanoparticles may lead to more durable and effective drilling components,
~ lighter and sturdier offshore platforms and a variety of corrosion-resistant materials

New separators and nanomembranes
~ stable and lightweight membranes could be used to filter impurities from heavy oil and tight gas, as well as in environmental applications
~ particular separation technologies will be extremely useful not only for the exploration and production industry, but also for the carbon-capture issue

Advanced fluid additives
~ Nano-scale additives might be used in everything from improved drilling fluids to more efficient and environmentally friendly fuels

Sensors and imaging agents
~ the special electrical and magnetic properties of nanomaterials make them well suited for use as injected sensors and contrast agents
~ they can withstand high temperature and pressure
~ could be especially useful for characterizing deep reservoirs
~ NORCADA
~ focused on nano-based temperature and pressure sensors
~ developed a thin-film based hybrid electronics fabrication process to produce electronics capable of operating at 225 oC or higher temperatures
~ focus in this area has been downhole applications where reliable operation at temperatures up to 225 oC is required for directional drilling control electronics
~ and pressure and temperature measurements circuits

Corrosion resistant nanotechnology
~ the corrosion resistant nanotechnology
~ Olefins - the extracts used as the basis for products such as plastics, lubricants, and antifreeze
~ represent the largest group of petrochemicals manufactured in the world
~ they are also among the most energy intensive, since the process of extracting them calls for a facility lined with thousands of metres of pipe,
~ all of which must be heated to temperatures upward of 1,000 degrees centigrade
~ the furnace structure is several stories, high . . . when you're trying to maintain an entire furnace, which is huge,
~ at those temperatures, your losses are so high that the energy requirements are not linear with temperature . . .
~ whereas currently, the walls inside the furnace are coated with a material that is intended to remain neutral during the thermal extraction process,
~ Quantiam has used nanotechnology to design a catalytic coating that participates in the process and
~ brings down the required operating temperature by 50 to 100 degrees
~ the difference could be worth billions of dollars in energy savings to plant operators around the world
~ in countries like Canada, which have approved the Kyoto Protocol, it allows these operators to decrease their greenhouse gas emissions
~ research intended to further enhance the catalytic participation of the furnace coating, so that the temperature can be dropped as low as 700 to 800 degrees. "That won't be an incremental change," he says. "That will be a total paradigm shift to the industry."
~ launched the "world-first mfg. facility to coat internal surfaces of complex shapes
~ based on its novel platform coatings technologies, Quantiam is currently designing and capitalizing a new advanced manufacturing facility
~ for application of coatings on the internal bores of complex shapes such as tubular/pipe products and other complex geometries
~ the launch capacity is projected at 5 million square inches (equivalent to ~35,000 linear feet of 4 inch diameter tubing)
~ and readily expandable to 20 million square inches within 3 years

NanoDynamics and Shell Technology Ventures Fund
~ formed a joint venture to develop new materials and products for exploration and production in the oil and gas industry
~ Epik Energy Solutions Llc, capitalizes on NanoDynamics' capabilities in nanomaterial synthesis and product engineering
~ targets the application of nanomaterials and nano-enabled products to improve a broad range of exploration and production issues
~ to examine ways of improving fuel extraction and processing methods through advanced materials and technologies

X
~ working to develop existing mems/nano sensors to function as a compatible sensor system with an acoustic reservoir monitoring system
~ to identify the location and progression of steam and water pressure plumes used in secondary recovery techniques in reservoir optimization
~ to deliver 5x to 10x greater range than currently used systems, which translates to 125x to 1,000x greater volume for oil & gas reservoir mapping
»American Association of Petroleum Geologists

»Oxonica
~ ENVIROX™ fuel combustion catalyst designed to improve fuel economy and reduce emissions from diesel powered applications

»nanotech-now.com

Funding
»Silicon Valley Nano Ventures

Miscellaneous
»Nanotechnology
»Natural Gas Nanotech
~ more sophisticated nanotechnology could be developed as solid-state gas sensors for air pollution monitoring
»Chemical & Petroleum Engineeering / University of Wyoming