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The Examination of Fiber and Breaker Effects on the Rheological and Settling Rate Characteristics of Hydraulic Fracturing Fluids

Ohanian, Nicholas
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1417610323

Abstract Details

2014, Master of Science, Ohio State University, Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering.
Hydraulic fracturing, better known as “fracking”, is a process used in the oil and gas industry to extract hydrocarbons from unconventional shale plays. By injecting large amounts of water, proppant, and chemicals into the well, the operator is able to create fractures in the rock formation that allow the hydrocarbons to escape the formation, traveling up the well for production. This process, along with horizontal drilling technology, has made the excavation of unconventional fossil fuel reservoirs economically viable; however, there are environmental and political concerns associated with the practice. Due to the exemption of fracking from the Clean Water Act and the Safe Drinking Water Act by the 2005 Energy Policy Act, many environmental groups and other stakeholders have voiced concerns about fracking. Lobbying, politics, and infrastructure struggles are affecting the United States because of the lack of federal regulation of fracking. With environmental and political concerns surrounding the practice, and the need for the practice to continue, improvement of the fundamentals of hydraulic fracturing is a necessity. Chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing fluids serve various purposes that contribute to the functionality of the fluid. This work focused on the rheological and proppant settling rate behaviors of fracturing fluids and two different components’ impact on that behavior. By understanding how breakers and fibers impact the rheological behavior of fracturing fluids, further work can improve upon their functionality and replace chemicals designated as breakers and fibers with environmentally benign components. For breakers and fibers, research was produced describing the rheological characteristics of each of the components in the fracturing fluid solution and their impact on the fluid’s viscosity and proppant transport capability. For breakers, research was conducted to determine whether the crosslinking densities typically found in practice would impact the breaker’s ability to reduce the viscosity of the fracking fluid. It was found that the crosslinking densities typically used in industry do not form a strong enough gel to withstand the breaker reaction. For the crosslinking density to have an effect, further testing is required on higher crosslinking densities, greater than 0.08 wt.% borax. Furthermore, the breaker reaction studied, the addition of ammonium persulfate, has higher reactivity at elevated temperatures. In the fiber study, it was found that the chopped carbon fibers used have an optimum concentration in the fluid to achieve the largest proppant settling rate reduction, whereas the nylon multimesh fibers increase settling rate reduction with increasing concentration. It was also determined that the fiber effect is more pronounced at elevated temperatures. This work was intended to understand the desired rheological and settling behaviors in fracking fluids in order to begin to improve upon existing applications. This would allow the oil and gas industry to continue to pursue fracking as a viable option for energy production while easing the minds of the public of the concerns associated with the practice, demonstrating its necessity. This would provide the United States with a cleaner, abundant energy source for the foreseeable future while the world further develops cleaner energy sources.
Kurt Koelling (Advisor)
Jeffrey Bielicki (Committee Member)
87 p.
Chemical Engineering; Engineering; Environmental Engineering; Materials Science; Polymers
Hydraulic Fracturing; Fibers; Breakers; Guar-Borate; Crosslinker

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Ohanian, N. (2014). The Examination of Fiber and Breaker Effects on the Rheological and Settling Rate Characteristics of Hydraulic Fracturing Fluids [Master's thesis, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1417610323

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Ohanian, Nicholas. The Examination of Fiber and Breaker Effects on the Rheological and Settling Rate Characteristics of Hydraulic Fracturing Fluids. 2014. Ohio State University, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1417610323.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Ohanian, Nicholas. "The Examination of Fiber and Breaker Effects on the Rheological and Settling Rate Characteristics of Hydraulic Fracturing Fluids." Master's thesis, Ohio State University, 2014. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1417610323

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

osu1417610323
827
© 2014, some rights reserved.Creative Commons License The Examination of Fiber and Breaker Effects on the Rheological and Settling Rate Characteristics of Hydraulic Fracturing Fluids by Nicholas Ohanian is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. Based on a work at etd.ohiolink.edu.
This open access ETD is published by The Ohio State University and OhioLINK.