Ecoserv provides a comprehensive range of land cleaning services, including the removal of tracer and proppant materials. This is crucial for cleaning up land after there has been industrial work performed on the site (particularly as relates to oil and gas), and reducing the environmental impact of that work.
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But what exactly is proppant and why is it so important to remove it from work sites? Here’s an overview of what you should know.
Proppant is a type of gritty material used during the hydraulic fracturing process, also known as “fracking.” The particles are uniformly sized and get mixed in with the fracturing fluid, which helps to hold open the fractures that are created in the ground during the process.
As more oil and natural gas wells are being created and as companies look to get an increased yield out of those wells, the demand for proppants has increased. A single fracking job can result in the use of thousands of tons of proppants.
There are both natural and manmade proppants. The former are usually sand, while the latter can include a resin-coated sand or a type of strong ceramic material. Any kind of proppant, natural or synthetic, will come in a range of sizes and shapes to allow them to be used in a corresponding variety of situations.
“Frac sand” is a proppant that features outstanding purity and durability. It has round grains, and is crush-resistant, which makes it very effective for propping open small cracks made in the ground during fracking. Most of the sand comes from sandstone that gets processed before being used for fracking purposes.
Resin-coated sand proppants are sand that has been coated in a resin to make the surface smoother and more uniform. The coating process also enhances its strength. Ceramic proppants, meanwhile, feature the greatest uniformity in structure and the highest strength due to the highly controlled nature of its manufacturing. It creates more space for oil and gas to flow through the proppant material.
Fracking can increase the oil and gas resources extracted from wells, but can also have harsh environmental impact. There are toxic chemicals used in the process, including in proppants, that can cause damage to the environment.
Therefore, removal of tracer and proppant materials used during the fracking process can help to mitigate some of that potential damage to the environment, reducing the impact of the fracking process as a whole and allowing it to still be used as a viable method of oil and gas extraction.
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The main characteristics that a proppant must meet include high resistance to pressure and diagenesis, roundness and sphericity, controlled granulometry, high conductivity and low cost. The proppant is the component that ensures conductivity and, thus, the success of the operation. In its use as part of the hydraulic fracturing process, it is recognized as one of the most impactful petroleum innovations of the 21st century. By combining improved drilling techniques and highly sophisticated fracturing designs, current proppant solutions help improve the production capacity of wells, resulting in more oil and natural gas, day after day.
Silica sand as a proppant
Frac sand is a natural crystalline silica (quartz) sand that is processed from high-purity sandstone. The composition of frac sand differs slightly from other types of sand, since quartz silica grains are a major component of most inter-coastal sands. The difference is that other sands are a mixture of various minerals and rock types, which are less durable than quartz. Frac sand grains are unique in their resistance to crushing, as well as their very round granule shape. This makes them ideal for use in the hydraulic fracturing process.
What is the function of frac sand?
Frac sand plays an important role in the shale fracturing process to release natural gas, oil and natural gas liquids from the rock pores. When high-pressure water injection forces small boreholes to become larger fractures, frac sand keeps those fractures open to continue releasing fossil fuels. When frac sand is used to prop those fractures, it is called "proppant". Fractures must be kept open to prevent them from collapsing and closing the pores from which natural gas and oil are obtained. Therefore, it is extremely important that the proppant be as durable and crush-resistant as possible. The longer the proppant withstands the huge pressure of the fractures, the more oil can be extracted, thus maximizing the efficiency of the well.
Contact us to discuss your requirements of oil and gas proppant. Our experienced sales team can help you identify the options that best suit your needs.