Proppants Categories for Hydraulic Fracturing Process of Petroleum Wells: A Review

Proppant is a gritty material with uniformly sized particles that is mixed in with fracturing fluid during the hydraulic fracturing (fracking) process to hold open fractures made in the ground. There are a variety of different types of proppant, including naturally occurring sand and manmade proppants. Man-made proppants include materials such as resin-coated sand or strong ceramic materials. Proppants come in a variety of different sizes and spherical shapes for a variety of different situations. Recently, demand for proppants has increased as oil and natural gas wells are being made to yield more oil and gas using hydraulic fracturing. One job can require a few thousand tons of this proppant material. There are several different types of materials used as proppant such as natural processed frac sand, resin-coated sand and ceramic proppants. Resin-coated sand is simply sand that is coated in a resin material to smooth the surface of the sand and make the shape more uniform. Coating the sand in resin increases its strength, making it more desirable as a proppant. Finally, ceramic proppants are the most uniform in shape and the strongest of the proppants as their manufacturing is entirely controlled. The uniform shape of this type of proppant ensures that there is more space for the oil and gas to flow through the proppant material and out of the well. Proppants come in a variety of different grain sizes, as well as different shapes. The size and shape of a proppant is important as it influences the final permeability in the induced fracture.

Keywords: Hydraulic fracturing; Oil and gas production; Hydraulic liquid; Proppant