GE have been one of the more enthusiastic supporters of open innovation, and they recently announced the winners of their latest challenge that looked at the ever controversial field of shale gas.

As the video below explains, sand plays a crucial role in the shale fracking process.  It is traditionally mixed with water and then injected into a formation to open it up and thus allow oil or gas to be extracted.

https://youtu.be/IR7Ik_TMkRQ

The whole process is pretty unfriendly to the environment, and the challenge set out to find a slightly greener way of doing it.

Making fracking greener

The competition attracted over 100 entrants from over 30 countries, with the winners eligible for up to $375,000 in funding to develop their ideas.

The five winners are:

• Bioastra Technologies – this Canadian entry proposed an expandable polymer proppant.  The particles expand up to 10 times their original size when placed in liquid and can easily be placed inside fissures.  Interestingly, the approach bears similarities to that used in surgery when artificial cartilage is produced.
• Biopolynet –  this US entry set out to make fluids more viscous and therefore better able propoants to stick to the surface of fissures in a formation.
• Hoowaki – continuing the wacky company names are South Carolina based Hoowaki, who proposed a alumina ceramic proppant.  The x shaped creation, which was developed in partnership with Shell, is designed to create drag and therefore reduce settling by up to 50 percent as it wedges itself into fractures.
• Semplastics – Florida based Semplastics proposed a lightweight polymer proppant.  This would be half the density of sand and resilient to corrosion, thus making it a more suitable material for use in fracking.
• University of North Dakota Energy & Environmental Research Center – the final winning solution was a ceramic based proppant that would be sourced from local, non-premium ore.  The developers believe this is 40% less dense than current ceramic proppants so would provide a big advantage.

The challenge is part of an ongoing effort to make fracking more environmentally friendly.  A second open innovation challenge is currently running to try and reduce water usage during the process.  The challenge is running until 24th September 2015, and you can participate here.