Composition and process for pelletizing carbon-based materials for proppant and industrial applications
AssigneeCarbo Ceramics Inc.
InventorsMinjung Cho, Todd Roper, Thu Lieng
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A method for producing an electrically-conductive pellet includes reducing a size of a first material. The method also includes wetting the first material to produce a first slurry. The method also includes introducing the first slurry into a fluidizer to produce a first pellet. The method also includes reducing a size of a second material. The second material is an electrically-conductive material. The method also includes wetting the second material to produce a second slurry. The method also includes applying the second slurry to the first pellet.
Claims13
An electrically-conductive pellet, comprising:
- a core made from a first material comprising alumina, silica, kaolin, bauxite, or a combination thereof;
- a shell layer that at least partially surrounds the core, wherein the shell layer is made from a second material that is electrically-conductive;
- and
- an intermediate layer comprising a combination of the first material and the second material;
- wherein the electrically-conductive pellet has:
- an average cross-sectional length from about 200 μm to about 4000 μm,
- a bulk density from about 0.3 g/cm3 to about 2.0 g/cm3, and
- an electrical conductivity from about 100 S/m to about 3000 S/m.
A sintered, electrically-conductive pellet, comprising:
- a core made from a first material comprising alumina, silica, kaolin, bauxite, or a combination thereof;
- a shell layer that at least partially surrounds the core, wherein the shell layer is made from a second material that is electrically-conductive;
- and
- an intermediate layer comprising a combination of the first material and the second material,
- wherein the sintered, electrically-conductive pellet has:
- an average cross-sectional length from about 200 μm to about 4000 μm,
- a bulk density from about 0.3 g/cm3 to about 2.0 g/cm3, and
- an electrical conductivity from about 100 S/m to about 3000 S/m;
- wherein the core and shell layer are sintered to provide the sintered, electrically-conductive pellet.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.