US Patent 8003212 - Proppant including sintered nanoparticles

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/8003212.html

Proppants are materials used to maintain hydraulic fractures and assist in the recovery of natural gas and oil. This patent from Oxane Materials teaches how nanoparticles can be used for improving proppant materials. Claim 1 reads:

1. A proppant comprising a ceramic material or oxide thereof or a metal oxide with a surface that comprises nanoparticles that are sintered, wherein said proppant is hollow, wherein said proppant has an overall diameter of from about 90 microns to about 1,600 microns.