Hydraulic fracturing proppants Hydraulic fracturing proppants A proppant is a solid material, typically sand, treated sand or man-made ceramic materials, designed to keep an induced hydraulic fracture open, during or following a fracturing treatment. It is added to a "fracking fluid" which may vary in composition depending on the type of fracturing used, and can be gel, foam or slickwater–based. In addition, there may be unconventional fracking fluids. Fluids make tradeoffs in such material properties as viscosity, where more viscous fluids can carry more concentrated proppant; the energy or pressure demands to maintain a certain flux pump rate (flow velocity) that will conduct
Foam latex actor Akim Tamiroff. To create foam latex, a liquid latex base is mixed with various additives and whipped into a foam, then poured or injected into a mold and baked in an oven to cure. The main components of foam latex are the latex base, a foaming agent (to help it whip into a froth), a gelling agent (to convert the liquid foam into a gel), and a curing agent (to turn the gelled foam latex into a solid when baked). A number of additional additives can also be added depending on the required use of the foam. Foam latex