Method of making rod-shaped particles for use as proppant and anti-flowback additive

A method for forming rod-shaped particles comprising:

• inducing flow of a slurry comprised of particles and a reactant through one or more orifices and into a coagulation solution, wherein the slurry exiting the one or more orifices is a continuous uninterrupted stream until rods of a desired length are formed;
• at least partially coagulating the reactant of the rods in the coagulation solution to form stabilized rods;
• reducing a length of the stabilized rods by subjecting the stabilized rods to mechanical vibration applied by a device or by feeding the stabilized rods through a device having a rotating cutting mechanism;
• and
• subsequently sintering the reduced length stabilized rods.