Characteristic study of Graphene Oxide (GO) with binder coated sand proppant: article

The paper describes about experimental works on Malaysia local sand specifically in Terengganu and Perak area. The study evaluated the characteristics and research in the laboratory experiments of the sand for the possibility to be used as proppant. Due to the limitation as uncoated sand, coating process is introduced to the sand by using graphene oxide (GO) and strengthen with the binder. GO is synthesized from graphite powder using modified Hummer’s Method. Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) and X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) are used to analyze the formation of GO by comparing with graphite. The diffraction pattern from both equipment confirmed that the graphite is able to convert to GO by using Hummer’s Method. Chitosan is used as a binder. Once coating, the coated sand is analyzed with FTIR and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) to observe whether the materials are bind properly on each other. The results showed that chitosan and GO is attached to the sand surface. The coated sand samples then undergo characteristic tests such as sieve analysis, roundness and sphericity, turbidity, acid solubility and crush resistance. The sample characteristics should meet the specifications set by American Petroleum Institute (API19C) or International Standard Organization (ISO13503-2). The results obtained from the analysis found that the sands show promising results even though do not completely surpass at certain characteristics for roundness and sphericity and acid solubility. GO and chitosan seem to enhance the quality of the local sand as proppant based on API19C or ISO13503-2 which develop better characteristic than the uncoated.