IMPROVING DRILLING FUNCTIONS OF THE API COMMERCIAL BENTONITE USING DIFFERENT ADDITIVES BY CONTROLLING THE ELECTROKINETIC PROPERTIES OF THE SUSPENSION

Abstract

Drilling fluid is the most important element in any drilling operation. In drilling muds the most important factor is the stability of the slurry. This work aims to improve the drilling functions of the bentonite by controlling the electrokinetic properties of the suspension. A correlation between the electrokinetic and rheological properties of drilling mud was made by investigating the effect of bentonite particle size, bentonite concentration, pH and addition of different types of organic additives. Effect of bentonite particle size and concentration was investigated by using different grain sizes of 38, 45, 63, 106 µm and bentonite mixture (API) at different concentrations.