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US 9,845,428 B2Granted
Proppants for hydraulic fracturing technologies
AssigneeSelf-Suspending Proppant LLC
InventorsDavid Soane, Robert P. Mahoney, Rosa Casado Portilla
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Abstract
The invention is directed to systems and methods for forming and using proppant particles having desirable attributes.
Claims19
A method of fracturing a subterranean geological formation comprising introducing into said formation a treatment fluid wherein the fluid comprises an aqueous hydraulic fracturing fluid and suspended proppant particles having hydrophilic properties while suspended during transport, wherein the suspended proppant particles comprise:
- a proppant particulate substrate,
- an inner polymeric layer made from a first polymeric material deposited on the particulate substrate, and
- a distended hydrophilic outer coating layer made from a second polymeric material deposited upon the first layer, wherein the distended hydrophilic outer coating layer comprises a hydrophilic polymer selected from the group consisting of EO/PO copolymers, polyvinyl acetate, polyethylene-co-vinyl acetate, polyvinyl alcohol, polysaccharides and combinations thereof, wherein the second polymeric material is selected so that
- (a) when this outer coating layer is exposed to the aqueous fracturing fluid, it distends and imparts hydrophilic properties to the suspended proppant particles, and
- (b) the outer coating layer protects the inner polymeric layer from the fluid in the fracture.
2 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.