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Crushed and Graded Granite Analogue  - Brown Grey
Crushed and Graded Granite Analogue - Brown Grey
4kg
£32.40
Specialist Aggregates Group
Specialist Aggregates Ltd Marine Arts
Give me a grain of sand and I will move the earth.
Thursday 13 December, 2012
News Brief

Specialist Aggregates take an over-view of fracking sands.

Full Story:

With news today ( 13/12/12) that Ministers will allow a controversial method known as fracking to develop vast reserves of natural gas locked up in shale rock under the Lancashire coast, Specialist Aggregates examines the use of sand, one of the vital components of the fracking process.

The principles of deep drilling and controlled explosion to open up fissures and release trapped natural gas are graphically explained by the media, but what part does sand play in the process?

A clue comes in the industry jargon for the material, a “proppant”, something that is pumped in under pressure and literally “props open” the fissures once they have been created. Not that any kind of construction sand will do the trick, the sands employed come from high quality silica based deposits with grain shapes that show high degrees of roundness and sphericity. The grain size distribution is also tightly controlled to allow for maximum gas flow with sands generally in the order of 0.5mm or less being favoured.

Whilst fracking has been around since the late 1940’s it has only relatively recently become a major international business with the volumes of sand being consumed to match. Recent estimates put the volume of sand used in the USA alone in 2011 at in excess of 20 million tonnes. Such is the rise in demand that traditional sand based industries such as glass making and casting are becoming fearful for their supply and are witnessing substantial increases in price.

Apposing views with regard to fracking are likely to keep the subject in the news for years to come, but few realise the importance of tiny grains of sand upon which the whole process depends.

Our images show the drilling for shale gas just North of Blackpool in Lancashire, and whilst not to scale our images of sands show the marked differance between a fully rounded grain shape and an angular sand better suited to slip resistant surfacing.

For our range of silica sands click the link below.

Extra Information:

For more information, please visit this related link:  Silica Sands.



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Give me a grain of sand and I will move the earth.
Give me a grain of sand and I will move the earth.
Give me a grain of sand and I will move the earth.
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