Fracking. We have heard the term, but do we know what it means Fracking is short for hydraulic fracturing. It's a method of extracting natural gas and oil from shale deposits deep within the earth. Water, chemicals, and sand are pumped into these shale deposits under very high pressure which causes the shale to fracture, releasing the natural gas and oil trapped within. The slurry of water, chemicals, gas, and oil are then slowly pumped back out, leaving the sand to hold the fractures open so the mixture can be removed. As the slurry of chemicals, water, sand, gas and oil is pumped back out of the ground, it is separated into its different components and stored in tanks.
Description
Frac sand gets its name from its use in hydraulic fracturing (fracking), a completion method used by oil and natural gas companies to produce natural gas, natural gas liquids, and oil from unconventional, low permeability reservoirs such as shale.
It is a high-purity quartz sand with very round grains. It is very durable and provides a crush-resistant material used in oil and gas industries for hydraulic fracturing (also called fracking).
Proppants used in the petroleum industry must meet very demanding specifications. The typical characteristics of high quality frac sand include:
High-purity silica sand a grain size that is perfectly matched to job requirements a round shape that allows it to be carried in hydraulic fracturing fluid with little turbulence durability to resist the crushing forces of closing fractures.
It comes in various sizes. It can be as small as 0.1 millimeter in diameter to over 2 millimeters in diameter. Most frac sand used in oil and gas industries are between 0.4 and 0.8 millimeters in size.
Why Frac Sand Makes a Good Proppant?
After the surface pumps are turned off, the fractures contract but do not close completely because they are propped open by billions of grains of it. This occurs when there is sufficient sand remaining in the rock to resist the force of the closing fractures.
