Abstract

Drilling operation efficiency is enhanced by the application of drilling mud constituted with suitable additives. This work investigates the use of locally sourced plantain peels powder (PPP) and burnt palm head sponge powder (BPHSP) in comparison with the use of commercial sodium hydroxide (NaOH) as additives for the enhancement of the pH and rheological properties of water-based mud. The water-based mud samples with and without various amounts (1.0 – 5.0 g) of PPP, BPHSP and commercial NaOH, respectively. Analyses of the results revealed that the pH and rheological properties (apparent viscosity, plastic viscosity and yield point) of the formulated waterbased mud were relatively enhanced with the respective use of the commercial NaOH, BPHSP and PPP as additives. The pH, apparent viscosity and yield point respectively increased with increase in the quantity of each of the added additives (commercial NaOH, BPHSP and PPP). The commercial NaOH had the highest percentage of improvement on the mud pH with 22.2 – 50%, followed by that of BPHSP (16.7 – 44.4%) and PPP (11.1 – 33.3%), respectively. Therefore, commercial sodium hydroxide, burnt palm head sponge ash powder and plantain peels powder can respectively be used as additives to enhance or improve the pH and rheological properties (viscosity and yield point) of water-based mud.Key words:Drilling mud; pH; Plantain peels; Palm head sponge; Rheological properties.

Highlights

  • Drilling fluids are complex mixtures of interacting components and their properties markedly change during drilling, with change in temperature and pressure, time, solid contents, rate of penetrationand formation zone been drilled (Okorie, 2009)

  • The rheometer dial readings at 600 and 300 rpm and the estimated plastic viscosity, apparent viscosity, yield point and mud density values for the formulated water-based mud with and without the addition of commercial NaOH, burnt palm head sponge powder (BPHSP) and plantain peels powder (PPP) are presented in Table 1.As presented in Table 1, it is seen that the mud weight of the formulated water-based mud with and without additives is 8.6 Ib/gal and this value remained the same irrespective of the amount of different additives that was added in the formulation

  • The addition of 1.0 to 5.0 g of each of the additive to the bentonite mud led to an increased apparent viscosity (APV) and yield point (YP) of the formulated water-based mud when compared to the values obtained without the addition of these respective additives.More for each of the additives added to the bentonite mud, the APV and YP increased with increase in the quantity of the additives

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Summary

Introduction

Drilling fluids (mud) are complex mixtures of interacting components and their properties markedly change during drilling, with change in temperature and pressure, time, solid contents, rate of penetrationand formation zone been drilled (Okorie, 2009).

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