Frac sand is a high-purity quartz sand with exceptional compressive strength and high roundness. It is typically made from natural quartz sand through multiple meticulously processed processes. It is primarily used in the oil industry, particularly in hydraulic fracturing. This involves injecting fracturing fluid into oil and gas reservoirs using high-pressure water pumps to fracture the reservoir and extract the oil and gas resources.
Frac sand is called a "proppant" because it creates a pore network that props open fractures, allowing oil and gas to flow out of the rock and into the well. While other proppants are available, frac sand is unique in its resistance to compression and its very round particle shape, making it well-suited for the fracking process.
In the oil industry, fracking refers to the use of hydraulic pressure to create fractures in oil and gas reservoirs during oil or gas production. This process, also known as hydraulic fracturing, involves pumping fracturing fluid into the well at high pressure, generating high pressure at the bottom of the well. When the pressure is high enough to fracture the rock formation, cracks form in the formation and propagate into space. To keep the cracks open, after rock fracturing, fracturing fluid is used to fill the cracks with proppant. Fracturing sand is available in sizes of 20-40 mesh, 40-70 mesh, and 70-140 mesh.