Frac Sand Blog

October 30th, 2011 | Author: richhill

Why a Frac Sand Blog?

Having a Frac Sand Blog for transloading stations only makes common sense for those that know how closely related the two really are. Both the frac sand and the transloading stations are integral parts of the hydrofracking process that is necessary for the energy companies that are fracking in the Marcellus Shale region.

For those of you just learning about frac sand, this is a short summary of where it comes from, how it is transported and why it is so important to the natural gas and oil exploration companies.

Frac sand is the same silica based material you can find on most any beach around the world. The quarries where it is excavated from are from as far north in North America as the southern portions of Canada to the south in Texas. The difference between the two types of sand is more than just the appearance.

The northern frac sand is called Ottawa Sand is spherical in shape. It’s color is close to being white and the SiO2 concentration of the material is near 95%. The size of the sand particles varies from 12 to 270 on the Tyler mesh scale. Because of its spherical shape, many in the hydrofracking industry prefer to use it in their process thinking it can roll into the fissures farther and sustain the openings in the rock layers better.

The southerner sand is called Texas Brown Sand. This is what most people remember from being on the beach. It is irregularly shaped but its SiO2 content is higher than that of Ottawa being at 99%. Because of its irregular shape the perception is that it might be more permeable into the fissures than its Ottawa counterpart. This sand can be readily found in sizes from 8 to 100 on the Tyler mesh scale.

The preference in just which type of frac sand a manager at the energy well uses is a personal choice. What is known is that both do the same job and both are in use today in the natural gas and oil well hydrofracking process. These are the particles that fit into the fissures created by the fracking process that helps to release the trapped natural gas and oil.

After the sand is taken out of the ground at the quarries, it is run thru a set of sieves. It is the mess size on the sieves that separates the sand into the different sizes that are there. This is how it is purchased by the energy companies. Because this is a bulk material, it is transported by rail cars to a transloading station that is near it’s final destination. There the frac sand is professionally offloaded from the rail cars to tractor trailers for it final leg of its journey.

Now you know where frac sand comes from and why it is so important to the natural gas and oil exploration companies, particularly in the Marcellus Shale region. I hope this frac sand blog has cleared up any questions on just what frac sand is.