Fracturing Fluid Components

The materials and chemistry used to manufacture hydraulic fracture fluids are often confusing and difficult for the practicing hydraulic fracturing engineer to understand and optimize. Many times the failure of a particular fracturing treatment is blamed on the fluid because that is a major unknown from the design engineer's viewpoint. Many of the components and processes used to manufacture the fluid are held proprietary by the service company which adds to the confusion and misunderstanding. This paper makes an attempt to describe the components used in fracturing fluids at a level that the practicing frac engineer can understand and use. The paper is intended as a companion paper to the Fracturing Fluids design paper which describes how to use the fluids and viscosity generated by the fluids to design a fracturing treatment.