Frac Sand and Silica Sand Processing in Australia
Micrograder wet and Aerograder dry plants for frac sand, glass sand and foundry sand in Australia.
CFlo supplies modular plants that grade Australian silica sand to specification. The Micrograder is the wet route for frac sand, glass sand and foundry sand for feed carrying silt, clay or coatings. The Aerograder is the dry route for clean, dry feed. A Micrograder rated at 80 to 100 tonnes per hour is in manufacture for a frac sand project near Darwin, delivered through a Certified Partner.
Specifications for frac sand, glass sand and foundry sand
Frac sand is a proppant that holds a fracture open under closure stress. Under API RP 19C and ISO 13503-2, at least 90% of a tested sample must fall between the two designating sieves for its grade: 20/40, 30/50, 40/70 or 70/140. Not more than 0.1% may be coarser than the coarse sieve, or 1% finer than the fine one. The standards also limit sphericity, roundness, crush resistance, turbidity and acid solubility, so clay, silt and surface coatings must come off the grain.
Glass sand and foundry sand are also judged on chemistry. SiO2 gives the quartz content and Fe2O3 the residual iron oxide, which discolours glass and sets the value of the sand. Commercial soda-lime-silica glass contains 70 to 74% silicon dioxide. The float glass specification at Chu Lai in Vietnam is above 99% SiO2 with Fe2O3 below 0.05%, in a 150 to 600 micron band. Foundry sand is bought on grading and AFS fineness number, held batch to batch.
Testwork on the deposit decides whether an Australian sand can meet the band. See also frac sand and proppant, silica and glass sand and foundry sand.
Micrograder wet processing plants
Where the feed carries clay, silt or surface coatings, or needs both a wash and a sharp size cut, the Micrograder is the platform.
Atropure attrition cells scrub coatings off each grain at 80% solids. Screenmax precision fines screens fix the top of the gradation and dewater on the same deck. Hydrocyclones hold the bottom cut. The Vertimax upward flow classifier makes the mid-range cut between two saleable fractions from a PLC setpoint. Spiropure spiral concentrators remove iron carried as discrete heavy mineral grains, by density and without reagents. The Hydromax high rate thickener recycles around 95% of the process water, and the Easysettle sludge management system releases water from the tailings at disposal. The plant can therefore run close to zero liquid discharge.
Models run from the Micrograder BT50 at 50 tonnes per hour to the BT100 and F100 at 100 tonnes per hour. Capacity varies with feed gradation and site conditions. Plants for Australia and New Zealand are built to AS/NZS standards, including the PLC control panel that CFlo designs, builds and tests in its own works.
Aerograder dry classification
Where the feed arrives dry and largely clean, it needs a fines cut rather than a wash. For those feeds CFlo supplies the Aerograder air classifier. It uses no process water, cyclone, baghouse or airlock. Four controls set the cut: the selector blades, the feed rate to air ratio, the fan blades and the rejector speed. It cuts in the 75–100 micron region, where residual fines below the finest designating sieves must be removed.
The feed is below 5 mm. Surface moisture is below 2%, because air will not separate damp fines. The feed is dry all year: an enclosed crusher-to-classifier circuit or an arid site gives year-round dry feed, and either arrangement is written into the specification. Only water removes bonded clay, so a feed carrying silt, mud, clay or organics is a wet duty. The Aerograder C100 is rated at 60 to 70 tonnes per hour and the C200 at 120 to 150 tonnes per hour. Capacity scales by running units in parallel.
The Darwin frac sand plant
CFlo's first frac sand project in Australia is a Micrograder modular wet processing plant rated at 80 to 100 tonnes per hour. It is in manufacture for a site near Darwin in the Northern Territory, with commissioning scheduled for early 2027. It will wash and classify local sand into proppant grades for a large oil and gas operator, and is delivered through a CFlo Certified Partner in Australia. Neither the partner nor the end user is named, at their request.
There has been no local source of proppant-grade sand. Sand used so far has been transported by road from more than 1,000 km away. The plant will make the same specification at the deposit, removing that haulage and its carbon.
The feed is run-of-pit sand carrying silt and surface coatings, so it is a wet duty. The flowsheet is scalping and sizing, attrition scrubbing, then classification. Around 95% of the process water is recycled and the plant runs with zero liquid discharge. It is built to Australian and New Zealand standards and ships as containerised modules, so commissioning on site takes days rather than months. Ryan Barker, Regional Head of Operations and Delivery at CFlo Europe Limited in Belfast, oversees delivery. The project announcement has the detail.
Abu Dhabi frac sand results with the Aerograder
In Abu Dhabi, four Aerograder C100-class units run in parallel, 280 tonnes per hour combined. They grade local dune and silica sand into frac sand for a major oil and gas services operator, with no process water. In a July 2026 verification campaign at 70 tonnes per hour per unit, the product averaged 0.83% minus 200 mesh against the 1% specification ceiling. It stayed within 0.71% to 0.98% across all four machines. Mass yield to product was around 90% and recovery of the plus 140 mesh coarse fraction about 94%. The demonstrated median cut was approximately 290 mesh, or 54 micron, below the 75 micron specification gate, on a feed concentrated below 30 mesh.
The classified product goes to multi-deck dry screens for the 20/40, 40/70 and 70/140 bands. Because fines do not reach the deck, blinding and recirculation are almost eliminated. The fines stream has value in brick-making, cementitious blends and filler markets. The Abu Dhabi case study has the campaign results.
Chu Lai float glass sand at 99.3% SiO2
At CFG-Chu Lai Float Glass in Quang Nam Province, Vietnam, two 100 tonne per hour Micrograder lines treat a raw ore of about 98.5% SiO2 and roughly 0.5% Fe2O3. The product is above 99.3% SiO2 with Fe2O3 below 0.05%, a tenfold reduction in iron on a gravity-based, chemical-free circuit. The stages are Atropure attrition scrubbing, Centrimax hydrocyclone classification, Spiropure spiral concentration and Vertimax hydraulic classification, with Hydromax and Easysettle recovering approximately 95% of the water. Product yield is approximately 71%. The product sits between 150 and 600 micron with the plus 600 micron fraction below 1%, and the oversize is sold as construction sand.
During sustained operation the ore deviated from the original test samples, with lower SiO2, higher Al2O3 and a coarser size distribution, and the plant still met or exceeded the specification. The Chu Lai case study sets out the flowsheet and results. A Micrograder BT100 at Bharuch in India produces 100 tonnes per hour of AFS 50 to 55 foundry sand with zero liquid discharge. A Micrograder BT50 at Hue in Vietnam grades low-iron silica sand for cristobalite manufacture at 30 to 35 tonnes per hour and recycles 95% of its process water.
Sample Study and Pre-Engineering
Plant sizing starts with a Sample Study at CFlo's own pilot plant and laboratory in Kolkata, a DSIR-recognised in-house R&D unit. Bench-scale and pilot-scale programmes run on bulk samples as a connected circuit. Programmes range from 20 kg for a short bench programme to 2500 kg for a full pilot campaign, depending on the stages involved. Samples go to the CFlo works in Kolkata, on a DDP basis with the paperwork agreed first.
The report gives feed characterisation, stage-by-stage results, a mass balance across the flowsheet and fraction-wise chemical assay of feed and product. It states product grades and yields against the sales specification, consumption figures for water, polymer and power, a recommended flowsheet sized to the tonnage, and product samples. Testwork follows the standard's own test methods. Reports take from one to two weeks for a short programme to twenty to twenty-four weeks for an extensive one, from receipt of the sample. Reports are confidential to the customer.
If the results support the project, Pre-Engineering runs over twelve weeks in parallel with capital approval. It covers process flow, mass and water balance, a final sized equipment list and plant general arrangement. It includes civil and structural drawings with foundation loading and utility schedules, and identifies long-lead items early. Manufacture then starts on placement of the supply contract. The Sample Study and Pre-Engineering page sets out both services.
Send us a sample
Tell us about the material and an engineer will come back with how much to send, how to sample it, and what the programme would cover.
Sales and support in Australia
CFlo plants are sold and supported in Australia through Certified Partners. CFlo Europe Limited in Belfast oversees delivery of the Darwin plant, and its territory covers the UK, Europe, North America and Oceania. CFlo Oceania handles sales and support enquiries for Australia and New Zealand on +61 870 925 996 or [email protected]. The contact page lists every regional office.
Co-founder of CFlo Europe Limited and its Regional CEO, responsible for the UK, Ireland and Europe, North America and Oceania. Has spent his working life building wet processing plant for quarries in Britain and Ireland, having previously helped build a global wet processing brand.
Information to send first
Send a representative sample or a recent gradation of the feed, a chemical analysis if available, and the moisture as received. State the specification the product must meet, the tonnes per hour required and the water available on site. If proppant is currently transported in, state the landed cost per tonne. Use the form above or contact CFlo Oceania to scope the Sample Study before shipping.
Frequently asked questions
What specification does frac sand have to meet?
Under API RP 19C and ISO 13503-2, at least 90% of the tested sample must fall between the grade's designating sieves, for example 20/40 or 40/70. No more than 0.1% may be coarser than the top sieve and 1% finer than the bottom sieve.
Can proppant be made in Australia without process water?
Yes, where the feed arrives dry and clean, below 5 mm and below 2% surface moisture. The Aerograder makes the fines cut with no water, cyclone, baghouse or airlock.
When is a wet plant the right choice?
A wet plant is needed when clay, silt or surface coatings must be scrubbed off to meet turbidity and crush limits. The Darwin feed is run-of-pit sand with silt and surface coatings, so that plant is a Micrograder.
Will a Micrograder bring our deposit to glass grade?
That depends on the mineralogy and how the iron is carried. At Chu Lai a feed of about 98.5% SiO2 and roughly 0.5% Fe2O3 reached above 99.3% SiO2 with iron below 0.05%. A Sample Study on your own sample gives the answer.
How much material does a Sample Study need?
Programmes need from 20 kg for a short bench programme to 2500 kg for a full pilot campaign. Samples go to the CFlo works in Kolkata, on a DDP basis with the paperwork agreed first. The sampling method is agreed before shipment.
How long does a Sample Study take?
A short programme takes one to two weeks and an extensive one twenty to twenty-four weeks, from receipt of the sample. Pre-Engineering, where it follows, runs over twelve weeks in parallel with capital approval.
Who supplies and supports a CFlo plant in Australia?
CFlo Certified Partners in Australia sell and support the plants, and CFlo Europe Limited in Belfast oversees delivery. Call CFlo Oceania on +61 870 925 996, email [email protected], or use the contact page.
Is CFlo's intellectual property registered in Australia?
Yes. CFlo is a registered trade mark in Australia (No. 2443583, registered to CFlo World Limited). The Combo is protected by Australian patent AU 2017374901 B2.