Surface corrosion mechanism of ceramic proppant caused by formation water

Abstract The performance of ceramic proppant tended to deteriorate during service, and one of the main reasons was the formation of water corrosion on the proppant surface. The proppant was isothermally soaked in formation water and the proppant immersed for different times was characterized by X‐ray fluorescence spectroscopy, X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy, X‐ray diffraction, Fourier‐transform infrared spectroscopy, and scanning electron micrscopy. It is found that Cl − in the formation water can migrate to the proppant surface by diffusion and cause corrosion, which degrades its performance. Silica of the proppant can react with Cl − of formation water to form SiCl 4 , which will rapidly hydrolyze to produce opaque silica gel or silicic acid gel coating the proppant surface. With the extension of immersion time, the gel becomes thicker and more, promoting the degradation of the proppant. This will provide some theoretical guidance for alleviating the degradation of proppant.