| abstract |
A method for improving hydraulic fracturing creates coated proppants containing one or more chemical constituents bonded to a substrate and introduced into the fracturing fluid itself. The substrate that eventually acts as a proppant may be sand, ceramic, resin coated sand, and other materials. Typically, the materials that are coated as powders adhered to the substrate may include friction reducers, biosides, oxygen scavengers, clay stabilizers, scale inhibitors, gelling agents, or the like. By adhering solid materials to a substrate 12 by a binder 14 , a single, solid, granular material may be maintained onsite, requiring reduced footprint, reduced mixing and may introduce almost instantaneously into a fracturing flow stream all the necessary chemical constituents, which will eventually become mixed. The result is reduced time, energy, manpower, equipment, and space at the sight, while reducing the environmental impact of transportation, spills, hydrocarbon use, and the like. |