Preparation and characterization of low-density mullite-based ceramic proppant by a dynamic sintering method

• Published in: Materials letters 2015-08, Vol.152, p.72-75
• Main Authors: Zhao, Jinzhou, Liu, Zuolei, Li, Yongming
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Ceramic proppant; Mullite; Sintering; Structural
• ISSN: 0167-577X; 1873-4979
• DOI: 10.1016/j.matlet.2015.03.060

Low-density mullite-based ceramic proppants were prepared from bauxite (49.74wt% Al2O3), soft-clay and manganese dioxide by a dynamic sintering method. The apparent density and breakage ratio of specimens were systematically investigated as a function of sintering temperature. The morphology structure and phase composition of specimens were investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The results show that the proppants were composed of acicular mullite and glass phases. The proppants prepared from calcined bauxite showed a better performance than the proppants prepared from natural bauxite. With increasing sintering temperature properly, the proppants showed an enhanced crystallinity and a denser microstructure, and the proppants sintered at 1355°C had the best performance with 2.792g/cm3 of apparent density and only 3.22% of breakage ratio under 52MPa. •Low-density mullite-based proppants were prepared by dynamic sintering.•High-quality proppants were prepared from calcined bauxite.•The bauxite calcination improved the compactness of proppants.•These proppants have great potential for wide use in hydraulic fracturing.