Crosslinked Aromatic Resin Beads for Spherical Proppant Scale-Up
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing synthetic methods for producing proppants suffer from drawbacks such as foaming, use of expensive catalysts, slow kinetics, and difficulty in scaling up production, leading to the formation of undesirable aspherical particles with reduced fracture conductivity and increased contact stresses.
Innovation Solution
A method involving suspension polymerization is used to directly synthesize highly spherical crosslinked aromatic resin beads by reacting a linker agent and catalyst with an aromatic feedstock, forming a pre-polymer mixture, combining it with an antisolvent, and heating to create crosslinked beads, which can incorporate fillers like coke to enhance properties.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If crosslinkers are used to form aromatic resins from polyaromatic-rich refinery streams, then proppant particles can be produced, but small molecular weight products such as water or HCl are generated leading to foaming in the product during the reaction
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the harmful foaming byproducts (water or HCl) from the reaction system by selecting alternative crosslinking chemistries that do not generate这些小分子副产物. This extraction of the harmful element resolves the contradiction between producing proppant particles and avoiding foaming.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces traditional crosslinkers that generate harmful byproducts with alternative crosslinking agents that are consumed in the reaction without producing foaming byproducts. This substitution with cleaner reagents eliminates the foaming issue while maintaining proppant production.
2Object-generated harmful factors
If pressure curing in an autoclave is used to combat bubble formation and foaming, then foaming is reduced, but the process requires expensive equipment that is difficult to scale to large volumes
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the need for pressure curing equipment by selecting crosslinking chemistries that do not generate foaming byproducts in the first place. This eliminates the requirement for expensive autoclaves and enables straightforward scale-up to large production volumes.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces expensive autoclave equipment with simple, inexpensive reaction vessels by using crosslinking chemistries that inherently avoid foaming. This substitution enables easy scaling from laboratory to industrial production without requiring specialized high-pressure equipment.
3Manufacturing precision
If grinding and sizing of particles is performed to achieve desired particle sizes, then particle size control is improved, but material is lost that is crushed beyond the size range of interest and jagged aspherical particles are generated
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs preliminary action by controlling the particle formation process itself to produce particles of the desired size and shape directly during synthesis. By pre-forming spherical particles with controlled size distribution through the polymerization process, the need for subsequent grinding and sizing operations is eliminated, preventing material loss and avoiding creation of jagged aspherical particles.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical grinding and sizing system with a chemical synthesis system that directly produces particles of the desired size and shape. Instead of mechanically crushing particles to achieve size control, the polymerization process itself is controlled to form particles with the target size distribution, eliminating material loss and preserving spherical morphology.
4Manufacturing precision
If grinding process is used to size particles, then particle size is controlled, but highly aspherical particles are generated that reduce fracture conductivity and amplify contact stresses
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs preliminary action by controlling the particle formation during the polymerization process to directly produce spherical particles with the desired size. By pre-forming particles with controlled size and spherical shape through the chemical reaction process, the need for mechanical grinding is eliminated, preserving the spherical morphology and avoiding generation of jagged aspherical particles that would reduce fracture conductivity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical grinding system with a chemical synthesis system that directly produces spherical particles. The polymerization process is controlled to form particles with the target size distribution and spherical shape, eliminating the mechanical forces that would create aspherical particles and preserve the desirable spherical morphology for optimal fracture conductivity.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The method produces proppants with high compressive strength, spherical shape, and low density, suitable for hydraulic fracturing, allowing for scaled-up production without the need for high-pressure curing and minimizing particle loss, thus improving fracture conductivity and mechanical resilience.
Implementation Method 1
heating the pre-polymer mixture and antisolvent to a second temperature to react the pre-polymer mixture to form crosslinked aromatic resin beads
Implementation Method 2
combining the pre-polymer mixture with an antisolvent; agitating the pre-polymer mixture and the antisolvent; wherein the pre-polymer mixture is dispersed as droplets in the antisolvent
Data Source
AI summary
A variety of methods are disclosed, including, in one embodiment, a method of making crosslinked aromatic resin beads comprising: contacting a linker agent and a catalyst with an aromatic feedstock at a first temperature effective to react the linker agent with molecules in the aromatic feedstock to form a pre-polymer mixture; combining the pre-polymer mixture with an antisolvent; agitating the pre-polymer mixture and the antisolvent; and heating the pre-polymer mixture and antisolvent to a second temperature to react the pre-polymer mixture to form crosslinked aromatic resin beads, wherein the pre-polymer mixture is dispersed as droplets in the antisolvent.