NEWS RELEASE                                                                                         March 2019

Frac Sand Plants will spend more than $45 million for Flocculants by 2025

Frac sand plants around the world will increase their flocculant consumption over the next five years. Presently 90 percent of the $17 million spent on flocculants is by U.S. based plants.  U.S plants will double their purchases by 2025 and other regions will spend more than $9 million.

The two most common flocculants are polyacrylamide and polydimethyldiallyammonium chloride (polyDADMAC). Although other types of flocculants are in use, these chemicals currently make up a majority of the flocculant use. Polyacrylamide anionic flocculants are commonly used to enhance settling of solids in the clarifier associated with the wet plant.

PolyDADMAC cationic coagulants are commonly used to enhance the performance of the belt press associated with wash plants.

There is the need to recycle water in the Permian basin where water is scarce.  The growing markets in China and other countries are also in areas of water scarcity. There are increasing quantities of sand used per gallon of oil recovered.  Furthermore the cost of extracting oil from shale is proving to be the lowest cost option. Chevron, ExxonMobil and other major gas and oil companies are greatly increasing their shale investments. Argentina is in the early stages of shale development. Saudi Arabia is looking to shale to supply gas. This gas will be used in power plants and will replace the oil presently used.

More details on the markets for flocculants in this and other industries are found in N026 Water and Wastewater Treatment Chemicals: World Market