industry wonder if the shortage is being overblown. “I think the sand shortage myth doesn’t represent
the reality,” said an industry veteran who declined to give his name. Whatever the reality, conditions have changed in the
markets for most major metalcasting sands, particularly silica. Metalcasters should be aware potential problems exist and know what they can do in the case of an actual short- age, according to Dave Jablonski, who handles metalcasting sales for sand miner and distributor Badger Mining Corp., Berlin, Wis., U.S.A. “Metalcasters that aren’t aware of the situation need to
know what’s going on,” he said. “If the foundry industry is going to grow, it will need sand.”
The New F-Word Most people probably don’t mind the word “frack,” but
metalcasters may get to know it as a dirty word. Accord- ing to Jablonski, Fracking refers to hydraulic fracturing, the process of using sand in oil or gas drilling to draw more fossil fuels to the surface. By pumping slurry into wells at high pressures, fuel harvesters can create additional cracks in the earth’s surface through which oil or gas can rush, making their job quicker and easier. Silica sand is a primary ingredient in the slurry, but his-
torically, the oil and gas industry consumed less of the sand and a different size than that used by metalcasters. In 2005, the process of fracking was turned on its side. “Previously, they drilled the well vertically,” Jablonski
said. “They would harvest the oil only around the well. Now, they have the technology to go horizontally, and they can do more.” Doing more means a need for greater amounts of
sand ( Jablonski estimates the industry’s consumption has jumped fivefold in the last 10 years). And breaking through the earth horizontally from the well and into certain rock formations (e.g. shale) requires a differ- ent grade of sand. For vertical fracking, the oil service com- panies wanted only round grains with high integrity, no impurities and 20-30-40 mesh particles.
仍然有一些业内专家质疑砂短缺是否被夸大了 。 一位不愿意透露姓名的业内资深人士说：“我认为砂 短缺的神话并不代表现实 。
据负责美国威斯康星州柏林的sand miner and
distributor Badger Mining 公司的铸件销售的Dave Jablonski说，无论真实情况是什么，市场上多数主要 的铸造用砂的情况已经发生了变化，特别是硅砂。铸造 厂应该意识到潜在问题的存在，并且知道在实际供应短 缺的情况下他们能做什么。
“那些没有意识到这样形势的铸造厂需要知道发生了 什么事情，”他说， “如果整个铸造行业正在发展，这 将需要砂子。”
新的脏词
大多数人可能不介意“frack”这个词，但铸造厂可 能知道它作为一个脏词。 据Jablonski所说，“Fracking”是指水压致裂法， 是指在石油或天然气钻井过程中通过使用砂粒开采出更 多的化石燃料。 通过将高压泥浆注入到矿井中，采油者 可以在地球表面制造更多的裂缝，这样石油或天然气就 能通过这些裂缝涌出，从而使得开采工作更快更容易 。 石英砂是泥浆的主要原料，但是一直以来，石油和天 然气工业与铸造相比要消耗较少的砂子，而且对砂子的 大小要求也不一样。从2005年起，水压致裂过程被广 泛应用。
“在此之前，他们垂直钻井，”Jablonski说。 “他们 只会开采钻井周围的石油。 现在，他们拥有了可以水平 钻井的技术，这样他们可以开采钻井周围更多的石油。“ 这意味着需要大量的砂子（据Jablonski估计，在过 去10年中该行业的砂子 消耗量已跃升5倍 ）。 另外，通过矿井水平穿 过地球内部的岩层（如 页岩）需要不同粒度等 级的砂子 。
对于垂直水压致裂 开采石油，石油开采公 司只需光滑的高原度无
Sand reclamation systems like this one can be an effective tool in the fight against rising sand costs.
像这样的砂再生系统会是 应对砂子成本上升的有效 工具。
Winter 2012
FOUNDRY-PLANET.COM | MODERN CASTING | CHINA FOUNDRY ASSOCIATION | 27
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