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Boron Carbide
Boron
Carbide (CB4) is a ceramic compound, that has a 75% abundance of Boron by weight and the same
density as Silica. It is a metalloid that is chemically inert under
typical conditions of hydraulic fracturing or cementing operations.
Boron is a neutron absorber. Boron nuclides capture thermalized neutrons that have a maximum energy of 0.025 eV. Boron transmutates
into Lithium under alpha decay. The absorption of a neutron by a
Boron nuclide with subsequent radiation emissions is a one time
nuclear event. The Lithium transmutation by-products also pose zero
risk from an HSE perspective. The nuclear reaction is shown in the
empirical formula as follows:
The capture gamma of Boron is the same as the principle gamma photon energy of Iridium-192, the most commonly used radioisotope used for radioactive fracture tracing. The main difference is that the capture gamma emitted by Boron is a one time nuclear event and Iridium -192 has a half life of 74 days meaning it emits the 0.48 MeV gamma energy for 740 days or 10 half lives.