Abstract
Abstract The purpose of the work is the development of ceramic proppants from serpentinites and red mud. The chemical and mineralogical composition of the raw material was studied. It has been established that the main mineral of serpentinites is serpentine, which is present in the form of fibrous chrysotile and lamellar antigorite. Red mud is represented by sodium aluminosilicates of various hydrated forms, silicon oxide and hematite. Structural-phase transformations of compositions based on serpentinite and red mud were studied in the heat treatment process. The proppant phase composition is represented by forsterite, clinoenstatite, spinel compounds and complex sodium aluminosilicates. Proppants of magnesia-silicate composition based on serpentinite and red mud have been obtained with the following properties: bulk density 1.59-1.61 g/cm3, fraction of crushed granules with a compressive load of 69 MPa no more than 22%, sphericity and roundness - 0.8, chemical resistance - 98%.