{"type":"rich","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Transistor","provider_url":"https://transistor.fm","author_name":"Energy 101: We Ask The Dumb Questions So You Don't Have To","title":"The Tiny Material That Could Replace Sand In Fracking","html":"<iframe width=\"100%\" height=\"180\" frameborder=\"no\" scrolling=\"no\" seamless src=\"https://share.transistor.fm/e/08b5f694\"></iframe>","width":"100%","height":180,"duration":3045,"description":"Those giant pyramids of sand at every frac site exist for one reason, and it turns out the industry might be quietly running short on the good stuff. Curtis Wilie and Josh Johnson of Superior Energy Services break down how a coal byproduct called fly ash is shaking up the proppant game, why something three times finer than sand outperforms it, and how pulling forgotten barrels from legacy wells could matter more than drilling new ones. Plenty of analogies, zero shame about the dumb questions.\nClick here to watch a video of this episode.\n\n00:00  Why there's sand everywhere on a frac site\n01:00  How hydraulic fracturing actually works\n04:00  River frac in the 1930s and the search for the right proppant\n06:00  The sand economy and a looming supply squeeze\n09:00  Where sand comes from and the Permian conveyor belt\n16:00  Meet EcoReach: fly ash instead of sand\n19:00  Lighter, stronger, finer, and how it travels farther\n21:00  Unlocking micro fractures and trillions of trapped barrels\n25:00  Sourcing ash from coal plants worldwide\n29:00  Walnut shells, steel balls, and other proppant experiments\n30:00  Skipping the blender and pumping at six barrels a minute\n33:00  Flowing like water and getting 90 percent of fluid back\n35:00  The floor jack analogy for frac initiation\n37:00  The godfather story and balancing the proppant triangle\n43:00  Who's adopting it and the case for refracs\nhttps://twitter.com/collide_aihttps://www.tiktok.com/@collide.iohttps://www.facebook.com/collide.iohttps://www.instagram.com/collide.iohttps://www.youtube.com/@collide_iohttps://bsky.app/profile/collide-ai.bsky.socialhttps://www.linkedin.com/company/collideai","thumbnail_url":"https://img.transistorcdn.com/8F_7R-SE-nw_rUP_p1-vdDVWboJt_kcEhdbgrgTEL7E/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:400/h:400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS9jYjY2/Yjk4MWJiZWFlYmVl/ZGIxYjkxYTdiYTdi/ZGUwMy5qcGc.webp","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300}