PROPPANT AND A METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING THEREOF Russian patent published in 2005 - IPC

FIELD: oil and gas production.

SUBSTANCE: invention relates to production of proppants, i.e. splitting granules, used in oil and gas production via breakdown way. Proppant of invention is obtained from caked two-component aluminosilicate fees in the form of granules with density 2.2-3.0 g/cm³ and 0.2-2.5 mm in size consisting of nucleus and shell, wherein one of components of aluminosilicate feed, which forms granule nucleus is a low-alumina substance containing less than 30% of alumina: coal combustion ashes, preliminarily fired kaolin, nepheline, nepheline syenite, feldspar, shale, or alumina production slime waste, and other component of aluminosilicate feed, which forms granule shell, is a high-alumina substance containing above 70% alumina: alumina dust of electrofilters of aluminum hydroxide calcination furnaces, industrial alumina, preliminarily fired bauxite, and exhausted catalysts based on active alumina form. Feed contains 50.0-95.0% low-alumina substance and 5.0-50.0% high-alumina component. In a method for production of proppant from two-component feed including (i) granulation upon addition of binding component in mixer-granulator provided with plate cup rotating at constant speed and rotor-type stirrer whose rotation speed is varied in dependence of granulation stage, (ii) drying, (iii) sizing of fried granules, (iv) firing of granules in rotary furnace, and (v) sizing of fired granules to form commercial fractions, when obtaining above-indicated proppant, low-alumina substance is used in the first granulation stage and, after granules 0.15-2.0 mm in size are formed, second granulation stage comprises addition of high-alumina substance into granulator followed by further granulation until granules 0.2-2.5 mm in size are obtained. Preliminary firing of low-alumina substance (as defined above) is carried out at 700-1200°C and the same of high-alumina substance (as defined above) at 700-1400°C. Firing of dried granules id effected at 1100-1600°C. Binding substance is used in the form of aqueous suspension of an organic binder (carboxymethylcellulose, methylcellulose, low-grade lignosulfates) of aqueous suspension of clay, wherein concentration of suspended binder is 1.0-10.0%. Aqueous suspension is added during granulation process in amounts 10.0 to 40.0% of the weight of initial feed.

EFFECT: enabled production of proppants from accessible raw materials (production wastes) without complication of existent technology.

9 cl, 1 tbl, 14 ex