The sedimentation characteristics of two commercial bentonites, Tixoton (organically treated) and Montigel-F (untreated), were investigated using a 3% w/v clay suspension at different concentrations (1, 3.5 and 10%) of NaCl and pH values (2, 7 and 12). Settling rates, floc diameters and sediment volumes were derived from changes in light transmittance using a Turbiscan Ma 2000 instrument.Both bentonite suspensions were unstable (flocculated) in NaCl solutions. The settling rate increased with increasing concentration of NaCl and was directly related to floc diameter. The sediment volume reduced with increasing NaCl concentrations, a result of greater double layer compression caused by increased ionic strength. At comparable salt concentrations, the organically-treated bentonite (Tixoton) settled at a much slower rate and had a greater sedimentation volume. The suspensions of both organically-treated and untreated bentonites were stable (dispersed) above pH 7 and unstable in acidic conditions. The settling rate for Tixoton under acid conditions was much smaller than that for the Montigel-F. Differences in sedimentation characteristics between the two bentonite samples are probably due to the presence of an anionic polymer (carboxymethyl cellulose: CMC) in Tixoton.The viscosity of the bentonite suspensions was also studied. The viscosity of the clay suspension is closely related to clay dispersivity in solution. The CMC was highly effective in increasing the viscosity of the bentonite suspensions, but only under neutral and alkaline conditions.

Multimineral log analysis is a quantitative formation evaluation tool for geological and petrophysical reservoir characterization. Rock composition can be estimated by solving equations that relate log measurements to the petrophysical endpoints of minerals and fluids. Due to errors in log data and uncertainties in petrophysical endpoints of constituents, we propose using effective medium models from rock physics as additional independent information to validate or constrain the results. In this paper, we examine the Voigt-Reuss (VR) bound model, self-consistent approximation (SCA), and differential effective medium (DEM). The VR bound model provides the first-order quality control of multimineral results. We first show a conventional carbonate reservoir study with intervals where the predicted effective medium models from multimineral results are inconsistent with the measured elastic properties. We use the VR bound model as an inequality constraint in multimineral analysis for plausible alternative solutions. SCA and DEM models provide good estimates in low porosity intervals and imply geological information for the porous intervals. Then, we show a field case of the Bakken and Three Forks formations. A linear interpolation of the VR bound model helps validate multimineral results and approximate the elastic moduli of clay. There are two major advantages to use our new method (a) rock physics effective medium models provide independent quality control of petrophysical multimineral results, and (b) multimineral information leads to realistic rock physics models.