Ultra-light weight proppant: Synthesis, characterization, and performance of new proppants

Abstract

One of the most important inputs for hydraulic fractures is the proppant. Although silica, ceramic, resin coated sands are used, the ultra-light weight proppants are preferred in some applications since they reduce settling, require low fluid viscosity to transport and allow an increased propped length. In this sense, we synthesized, characterized, and evaluated the performance of polymer proppants obtained from suspension polymerization in presence of micro- or nanofillers. The results obtained from resistance to organic solvents and from crush tests, showed that the composites prepared in presence of carbon black were the most promising. It is important to highlight the good performance with respect to the requirements for a hydraulic fracture: the results from the conductivity and permeability tests were similar to those of commercial polymeric and natural sand, and no generation of fines was observed in the crushing test.