Patent ID: 8567502

Claim:
A method for removing contaminants from a fluid originating from a subterranean reservoir comprising: contacting the subterranean reservoir fluid containing contaminants of at least one type with a structure comprising a substrate and a plurality of nanoparticles coated on the substrate, where the nanoparticles: have a mean particle size of less than 500 nm, are selected from the group consisting of alkaline earth metal oxides, alkaline earth metal hydroxides, alkali metal oxides, alkali metal hydroxides, transition metal oxides, transition metal hydroxides, post-transition metal oxides, post-transition metal hydroxides, piezoelectric crystals, pyroelectric crystals, and mixtures thereof, where if the contaminant comprises a metal, the metal is different than the metal in the particles, and are present in an amount effective to at least partially remove the contaminants from the fluid; and at least partially removing the contaminants from the subterranean reservoir fluid by an association of the nanoparticles with the contaminants.