Light-weight proppant from heat-treated pumice
AssigneeBaker Hughes Incorporated
InventorsThomas J. Pisklak, Richard F. Stevens, Jr., Qi Qu, Elizabeth G. Morillo
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Abstract
A process for forming a strong, low-density proppant, which process includes heating pumice particulates, or shaped agglomerates thereof, so as to form heat-treated pumice particulates, or heat-treated, shaped pumice agglomerates, having an apparent density of 2.4 or less and a crush resistance of no more than 10% fines at 4000 psi. Proppants, and well treatment fluids comprising proppants, meeting these characteristics and processes for treating subterranean formations using fluids which include such proppants are also described.
Claims33
A process for forming a proppant, the process comprising
- heating an amount of pumice particulates coated with bentonite clay so as to (i) increase its density and maintain or shrink its size relative to the pre-heated pumice particulates and (ii) form an amount of heat-treated, pumice particulates having an apparent density of 2.4 or less, and a crush resistance of no more than 10% fines at 4000 psi;
- wherein the amount of bentonite clay is in the range of about 50 to 200 wt %, based on the weight of the shaped pumice agglomerates in dry form.
A process for forming a proppant, the process comprising agglomerating and shaping an amount of pumice particulates so as to form an amount of shaped pumice agglomerates;
- coating the shaped pumice agglomerates with bentonite clay, wherein the amount of bentonite clay is in the range of about 50 to 200 wt %, based on the weight of the shaped pumice agglomerates in dry form, to form coated agglomerates, and then heating the coated agglomerates so as to (i) increase the density and to maintain or shrink the size of the pumice particulates relative to pre-heating and (ii) to form an amount of heat-treated, shaped pumice agglomerates having an apparent density of 2.4 or less, and a crush resistance of no more than 10% fines at 4000 psi.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.