Use of polymers for treating and recovering of contaminated drilling fluids

Abstract

The aim of this work is to evaluate the effect of cellulose and non-cellulose polymeric additives for protection and recovery of clay and water based drilling fluids with different contamination degrees. Two samples of sodium bentonite clay and three polymeric additives - PHP, polyacrilamide, CMC BV, carboximethylcellulose of low viscosity and MIX, mixture of PHP and CMC BV - were studied. For the protection process, the drilling fluids prepared with 4.86% w/w, were treated with polymeric additives and after 24 hours, contaminated with CaCl2 + MgCl2 (degradation additive). The recovery process was made by addition polymeric additives in inverse order. The apparent and plastic viscosities and water loss were measured by using viscosimeter Fann 35A and filter press Fann, respectively. The results show the efficiency of CMC BV and MIX in the protection and recovery of drilling fluids contaminated with CaCl2 + MgCl2 in different concentrations.

Keywords

• fluidos hidroargilosos
• contaminação
• aditivos poliméricos