Drilling Waste as a Promising Man-Made Material for the Synthesis of Aluminosilicate Proppant

The problem of the need to increase the development of wells with shallow oil depths is described. The essence of the hydraulic fracturing method is described and the chemical composition of the drilling fluid is given. The definition of drilling waste and its characteristics are given. The average chemical composition of the proppant and the requirements that are imposed in accordance with regulatory documents are revealed. Studies of the chemical and phase composition of the selected drilling waste from the Vostochno-Chumakovskoye field were carried out, during which it was established that it is promising for use in the synthesis of high-quality aluminosilicate proppants. On the basis of theoretical data, studies of the radiological safety of drilling waste were carried out, which showed that it can be used in the developed resource-saving technology of proppants. Based on analytical and physico-chemical studies, modifying additives were selected and raw mixtures were compiled for the synthesis of model samples in order to determine their characteristics (density and strength). The optimal composition of the raw mixture and the temperature regime of firing samples were determined. It was found that in order to obtain a strong proppant (strength above 68.9 MPa), it is necessary to introduce the following modifying additives into the composition of the raw mixture with specified amounts, wt. %: aluminum oxide powder (over 100)—5, sodium fluoride powder (over 100)—4, BT-1 cullet—20.