Preparation and optimization of a low cost, high breakage resistance ceramic proppant special for the coal‐bed methane

Abstract

A kind of low cost, high breakage resistance ceramic proppant special for exploitation of the coal-bed methane is successfully produced. The producing conditions are optimized through orthogonal experimental design method. The breakage resistance results of the orthogonal analyses show the best condition of this kind of ceramic proppant is A 4 B 3 C 3 D 2 , which means sintering temperature of 1350°C, manganese mineral powder content of 5 wt.%, weight ratio of 75/25 (second grade bauxite to mujie clay), and holding time of 3 h. The ceramic proppants under this very condition of A 4 B 3 C 3 D 2 are then prepared and their phase structure and microstructure are characterized subsequently. X-ray diffraction pattern exhibits that mullite and corundum are the main crystallographic phases. Scanning electron microscopy illustrates the A 4 B 3 C 3 D 2 sample is with non-porous morphology and small amount of corundum grains and liquid phase, which play the role of improving strength. It reveals the orthogonal experimental design is a feasible optimization method and the ceramic proppant made under the condition of A 4 B 3 C 3 D 2 is a promising material for exploiting the coal-bed methane resources.Keywords: Ceramic proppant / optimization / orthogonal experimental design / phase structure / microstructure Schlüsselwörter: Keramische Stützmittel / Optimierung / orthogonaler

Facile and Controllable Preparation of Poly(St-co-MMA)/FA Microspheres Used as Ultra-Lightweight Proppants

“…Proppants should have sufficient strength to keep cracks open that will form channels to make the oil and gas flow through conveniently, causing the well production to be increased significantly [ 6 ]. However, traditional proppants such as quartz sand [ 7 ], walnut shells, gravel- and resin-coated sands [ 8 , 9 ], and sintered ceramic [ 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 ] are prone to settling in hydraulic fracturing operations because of their high density, which seriously affects the efficiency of oil and gas exploitation. Therefore, it is significant to develop ultra-lightweight (ULW) proppants with good performance [ 3 , 14 ].…”