Low Weight Composite Proppant for Hydraulic Fracturing of Subterraneous Formation: Experimental Analysis

Abstract- As one of the contributing operations in petroleum industry, hydraulic fracturing success in deep reservoirs is directly related to the strength and weight of proppants. In the present research, impregnation and coating of coconut shell (as low weight bio-material) were performed via grafted GMA and phenolic resin, respectively. Microscopy techniques and single compression test under displacement control (0.02 mm/sec) were performed to study the microstructure and mechanical response of coated and uncoated particles. Thickness of the polymer coat on the coated particles is observed to ~8μm. The results clearly demonstrated that the coated particles have gained significant strength. This strength enhancement is due to polymer coating; hence low-weight composite proppants can tolerate more resistance to subsurface closure pressure. Polymer coating emerges as a significant strength improvement method property that needs to be characterized and documented, particularly for low-weight bio-materials. Keywords - , , , , .