Abstract
The characteristics of clays from Abakaliki Formation, Southeastern Nigeria was evaluated to establish its suitability as drilling mud when compared with commercial bentonite such as Wyoming bentonite. The chemical, mineralogical and geotechnical properties were employed in assessing the suitability of Abakaliki clay as drilling mud. Mineralogically, the clays were all characterized as dominantly Illite as well as montmorillonite with low percentages of kaolinite. The chemical composition of the clays indicates low percentages of Na 2 O when compared with that of Wyoming bentonite with fairly higher percentages of CaO and K 2 O than are required for drilling mud clays. The clays are plastic; with liquid limit (LL) of 58.8 to 72.8, plastic limit (PL) of 25 to 30 and plasticity index (API) of 26 to 45.8. They are classified as inorganic clays of high plasticity (CH) according to Unified Soil Classification System (USCS) and as A-7-6 according to American Association of State High and Transportation Official’s (AASHTO) classification systems. The natural pH values are greater than 8.10, while the viscosity values varied from 5.9 to 8.0 centipoises for 10 g clay per 350 ml water. Some of these natural properties (Na 2 O and C a O contents, LL, PI and viscosity) of these Nigerian clays failed to satisfy the required specifications outlined for clays used as drilling mud when compared with the properties of Wyoming bentonite. This clay will possibly yield low plastic viscosities but with additives such as sodium carbonate and carboxymethyl cellulose, the rheological properties for Abakaliki clay will remarkably improve. Key words : Abakaliki Formation, drilling mud, geotechnical analysis, Wyoming bentonite, Southeastern Nigeria.
Highlights
Clay are generally fine-grained materials, with particle size less than 0.002 mm with predominately clay minerals
There is a general absence of universally accepted procedure for standardizing industrial specifications of the properties of clays used as drilling mud, the properties of the naturally active Wyoming bentonite which most oil drilling companies use as an effective drilling mud have been employed to evaluate the potential of most clays applied in drilling operations (Rath, 1986)
The results indicate that the clays are composed predominantly of Illite and mixed layer clays, with presence of Montmorillonite which ranges from 20-30% and kaolinite which ranges from 15-25%
Summary
Clay are generally fine-grained materials, with particle size less than 0.002 mm with predominately clay minerals. Several clay occurrences have been investigated and reported in Nigeria (Elueze, 1998) The interest in these studies is hinged on the effective exploitation of the local raw materials for use as drilling mud for sustainable economic growth and creation of employment opportunities. Raw materials used for the mud making are usually selected clays with appreciable amount of montmorillonite and are judged by their behavior in water (Nestle, 1944) Their suitability is determined by various criteria, among which are the viscosity, the volumetric yield of given clay and filtration characteristics (Apugo-Nwosu et al, 2011). The term bentonite is applied commercially to any plastic, colloidal and swelling clay regardless of its geological origin (Apugo-Nwosu et al, 2011) Such clays are ordinarily composed largely of minerals of the montmorillonite group. The aim was to determine whether the clay deposits meet the specifications for use as drilling mud when compared with that of Wyoming bentonite as well as other commercial bentonite
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