Effect of Barium Aluminates on Acid Resistance of Fracturing Proppants

Abstract

In order to explore the effect of removing siliceous components on acid resistance of fracturing proppants, acid resistance of fracturing proppants in a new silicon-free system was studied in this paper. The fracturing proppants were made by pressureless sintering using high-purity alumina and barium carbonate as the basic raw material. Acid resistance test was carried out in 12 wt% HCl + 3 wt% HF at 65 oC for 30 minutes according to The Petroleum and Gas Industrial Standards of China (SY/T5108-2006) and morphology, structure and chemical analysis of the samples were investigated using X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy. Experiments show that fracturing proppants that contain barium aluminates have better acid resistance. The acid solubility of the samples is less than 3%, especially when the content of barium carbonate is about 10% (mass fraction, the same below), the acid solubility of the sample reaches 0.52% which is far beyond the demands (5%) of the Standards of SY/T5108-2006. Results prove that the removal of siliceous components of raw materials can prominently improve the acid resistance of fracturing proppants. It can provide a new referential thought for improving the acid resistance of fracturing proppants.