Proppants and anti-flowback additives comprising flash calcined clay, methods of manufacture, and methods of use
AssigneeImerys Oilfield Minerals, Inc.
InventorsMark Windebank, Thomas Parias, Jarrod Hart
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Abstract
Spherical and rod-shaped proppants and anti-flowback agents made from flash calcined clays, such as flash calcined kaolin, possess high strength and high conductivity. The starting material may optionally be milled to achieve better compacity and crush resistance in the final proppant or anti-flowback agent. A fracturing fluid may include the rods or spheres alone, or in combination with each other or other proppants or anti-flowback agents of different shapes.
Claims20
A proppant or anti-flowback additive comprising sintered ceramic particles formed from a flash calcined clay.
A method of making a proppant or anti-flowback additive comprising:
- providing a ceramic precursor composition comprising a flash calcined clay;
- pelletizing the ceramic precursor composition;
- and
- sintering the pelletized ceramic precursor composition to form a proppant or anti-flowback additive.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.