Solid Cross Linker of Aqueous Polysaccharide Gel

Abstract

Improved technology is proposed for the preparation of liquids for hydraulic fracturing (HF)by replacing the liquid cross linker of aqueous polysaccharide gels with solid. The solid cross linker is designed to reduce the logistical costs on transportation and storage of chemical reagents and simplify the technological usage of the HF process. The use of “on the fly” technology leads to more complete and quality gel hydration and its subsequent cross linking. Prolonging the action of the solid cross-linking compositions and also increasing the flowability of the reagent can be achieved as a result of granulation of the reagent and, consequently, the presence of a stage with slow dissolution of the cross linker granules in an aqueous polysaccharide gel.