Systems and methods to strengthen sand proppant

• US 10,414,662 B1
• Filed: 02/15/2019
• Issued: 09/17/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 06/26/2018
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Forecaster Chemicals, LLC
• Original Assignee: Forecaster Chemicals, LLC
• Inventors: Akbar, Syed, Rose, Jared
• Primary Examiner(s): Ko, Jason Y
• Application Number:
  US16/276,910
• Time in Patent Office: 214 Days
• CPC Class Codes: B02C 17/183 Feeding or discharging devices
• CPC Class Codes: B02C 25/00 Control arrangements specially adapted for crushing or disintegrating
• CPC Class Codes: C01B 33/18 Preparation of finely divided silica neither in sol nor in gel form; After-treatment thereof preparation of aerogels by dehydrating gels C01B33/158; treatment to enhance the pigmenting or filling properties C09C
• CPC Class Codes: C01P 2002/82 by IR- or Raman-data
• CPC Class Codes: C09K 8/80 Compositions for reinforcing fractures, e.g. compositions of proppants used to keep the fractures open

Abstract

Methods and systems for cost effectively transforming lower quality sands into higher quality sands for use as proppants in fracking operations. One or more of an attrition process, a microwaving process and a tumbling process, and systems therefor, are disclosed and shown to be applied to sands having inferior physical properties in order to increase the performance of those sands as proppants in hydrocarbon formation fracturing.

Claims

1. A system to increase the crush resistance of silica sand used as proppant in hydrocarbon formation fracturing, the system including:

a washer having a cavity to receive a silica sand and a wash solution, the washer having an agitator to agitate the silica sand and the wash solution, the wash solution being composed of an acidic solution;

a microwave device having an interior chamber positioned within an outer housing, the interior chamber being positioned to receive and maintain the washed silica sand therein after being washed by the washer therein for a preselected microwave exposure time, the microwave device also having a local radiation emitting source that emits electromagnetic radiation into the interior chamber at a frequency of between about 300 MHz and about 300 GHz; and

a tumbler positioned to be rotated upon an axis thereof at a preselected rate of rotations per minute, the tumbler having a barrel positioned to receive the silica sand from the microwave device.

2. A system of claim 1, wherein the preselected rotations per minute of the tumbler comprises at least five rotations per minute.

3. A system of claim 1, wherein one or more of the washer, the microwave device, and the tumbler include one or more wheels to be positioned and roll along a surface so that the system defines either a mobile or semi-mobile system.

6. The system of claim 1, further comprising silica sand disposed in the cavity of the washer.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein the silica sand is sorted silica sand having particles that are uniform in size range.

10. The system of claim 1, further comprising washed silica sand disposed in the interior chamber of the microwave device.

4. A system to increase the crush resistance of silica sand used as proppant in hydrocarbon formation fracturing, the system comprising:

a washer having a cavity to receive a silica sand and a wash solution, the washer also having an agitator to agitate the silica sand and the wash solution, the wash solution including an acidic solution; and

a microwave device having an interior chamber positioned within an outer housing, the interior chamber being positioned to receive and maintain the washed silica sand therein for a preselected microwave exposure time, the microwave device also having a local radiation emitting source that emits electromagnetic radiation into the interior chamber at a frequency of between about 300 MHz and about 300 GHz.

5. A system of claim 4, further comprising a tumbler positioned to be rotated upon an axis thereof at a preselected rate of rotations per minute, the tumbler having a barrel positioned to receive the silica sand from the microwave device.

8. The system of claim 4, further comprising silica sand disposed in the cavity of the washer.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the silica sand is sorted silica sand having particles that are uniform in size range.

11. The system of claim 4, further comprising washed silica sand disposed in the interior chamber of the microwave device.