Dynamic Filtration Properties of Fresh Water Sepiolite-based Muds

Abstract

The usage of sepiolite muds is not common in the drilling industry even though they exhibit better rheological properties under high temperature and high salinity environments than those of rivals due to their unacceptable high filtration losses. Recent studies have revealed that it is possible to obtain low filtrate rates from these muds along with commercial additives under static conditions at harsh temperatures and saline environments. On the other hand, the dynamic fluid loss behaviors of sepiolite muds are not a well known phenomena. There is no published work on the dynamic filtration behavior of these muds. The main goal of this study is to characterize the dynamic filtration behavior of sepiolite muds formulated with commercial additives under elevated temperatures and pressures. In addition, effects of particle size gradation of sepiolite clay on dynamic filtration properties of these muds are investigated. The variation of spurt loss volume, dynamic filtration rate, and cake deposition index pr...