Reversible adhesion surface coating proppant

Abstract

Proppant is a key material in the hydraulic fracturing process, which has been widely used in unconventional oil exploitation. Normal proppants are easy to sedimentate and accumulate at the entrance of shale fracture, which will block the diversion of water, oil and gas. Coated proppants (CPs) are fabricated by coating resin on normal ceramic proppants through a simple method, which is dramatically enhanced the supporting properties in shale fracture and easy to scale up. Compared with uncoated ceramic proppants, the self-suspension ability of CPs is ∼11 times higher, which are able to migrate and distribute farther and deeper inside the fracture. At the same time, Coating enhanced the 23.7% of adhesive force in maximum, which makes the CPs easier to adhere on the fracture surface to supportthe shale fracture. Besides, the liquid conductivity of CPs is 60% higher than uncoated ceramic proppants at 13.6 MPa pressure. This method is expected to fabricated varieties of proppantsfor shale fracture supporting to improve the exploration of unconventional oil and gas resources.