Comparative Evaluation of the Rheological and Proppant Handling Capability of Detarium microcarpum as a Viscosifier in Hydraulic Fracturing Fluid Design

The most frequent viscosifier used in hydraulic fracturing fluid design is guar and its derivatives. However, Guar leaves residues in solution, it is unstable at higher temperatures, and is not immune to market dynamics of demand and supply. This research aims to source for an alternate hydrocolloid for hydraulic fracturing fluid development. Detarium microcarpum (local), Cyamopsis tetragonoloba(imported) and polyanionic cellulose-regular PAC-R (Imported) were sourced, isolated, and used in carrier fluid design. The rheological properties of the three fluids were investigated at 27°C, 57°C, and 85°C. The rheological models were generated and compared with the imported samples as the control. Also, to analyse the proppant handling capacity of each of the carrier fluids, the geometry of the proppant grains and the rheology of the carrier fluids were used to compute the coefficient of drag, the drag force and the settling velocity of the carrier fluids.