Fracking Sand, the Dummy Version

Frac sand (top), low-quality
sand (bottom)

From time to time we like to dip our research toes in the murky waters of sites heavily populated by content spinners and ESL freelancers. Bubblews and PersonaPaper are both dead now, but (for some unknown reason) EzineArticles.com and Wizzley.com live on. It's at EzineArticles.com that we found the interestingly-named Paul Mike John and his (their?) somewhat bizarre take on the sand mined for use in hydraulic fracturing, which he called "Mini Diamonds: What Is Frac Sand?"

First things, first: yes, there is such a thing as "frac sand." It's ordinary sand, like you might find in a dune or on a beach, that is mined to be used during hydraulic fracturing. Fracking, as it's called, employs high-pressure fluids to force open cracks in subsurface rocks (typically shale). Sand is injected along with the fluids to "prop" open the cracks when the fluids are pumped out; the technical term is a "proppant." The best sand for proppants is uniform in size, shape, and mineralogy. Now, let's see what Paul... errr, Mike... errr, John has to say:

"We all imagine sand as something that we see on the beach, play with in playgrounds or use to decorate areas around the house. However, not all sand are made equal. Some of them are made for leisure, and some of them are made to function."

The bizarre notion that some "sand are [sic] ...made to function" notwithstanding, he's right that not all sand is equal. It's what he says after that sentence that gave our staff headaches. You know, stuff like,

"It is a uniquely shape sand and it is like a minute snowball that is very resilient and strong. You can say that this kind of sand is almost like quartz crystal."

There's nothing unique about the shape; it's just as close to spherical as possible. And as for "like quartz crystal"? Well, most frac sand is quartz, although it's definitely not the classic, prismatic  shape of a quartz crystal. And then there's,

"Another property of such sand is that it must be capable of withstanding incredible pressure, heat and breakdown as the sand travels deeper into the earth's surface [sic], ideally at 8000 feet below the ground."

No idea where Mike glommed onto that depth, but we can assure you that quartz sand is quite stable at depths much greater than 8,000 feet. And why does Paul think drillers use frac sand? Because,

"The main goal of using this sand is to ensure that it can effectively keep the cracks open since regular sand will not be able to keep these cracks to open." No, John, "regular" sand (whatever that is) can keep the cracks open just as well. The key to the stuff is a word Mike seemed to have accidentally thrown in, "effectively": the optimal frac sand is fine grained, well-rounded, near-pure quartz, and well sorted. If any of those criteria isn't met, it's not as effective. Some of the information is in John's post is correct, and some of it's pretty questionable. Most of it, however, is poorly presented and, at times, just plain strange: classic Dumbass of the Day work.

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DD - FRACKING