Formulation of cellulose using groundnut husk as an environment-friendly fluid loss retarder additive and rheological modifier comparable to PAC for WBM

Abstract

The hydrocarbon extraction and exploitation using state-of-the-art modern drilling technologies urge the use of biodegradable, environment-friendly drilling fluid and drilling fluid additives to protect the environment and humanity. As more environmental laws are enacted and new safety rules implemented to oust the usage of toxic chemicals as fluid additives, it becomes inevitable that we re-evaluate our choice of drilling fluid additives. Drilling fluids and its additives play a crucial role in drilling operations as well as project costing; hence, it is needed that we develop cost-effective environment-friendly drilling fluid additives that meet the requirements for smooth functioning in geologically complex scenarios as well as have a minimal ecological impact. The current research work demonstrates key outcomes of investigations carried out on the formulation of a sustainable drilling fluid system, where groundnut husk is used as a fluid loss additive and a rheological modifier having no toxicity and high biodegradability. Cellulose was generated from groundnut husk at two varying particle sizes using mesh analysis, which was then compared with the commercially available PAC at different concentrations to validate its properties as a comparable fluid loss retarder additive as well as a rheological modifier. In the present work, various controlling characteristics of proposed groundnut husk additive are discussed, where comparison at different concentrations with a commercially available additive, PAC, is also validated. The API filtration losses demonstrated by the (63–74) µm and the (250–297) µm proposed additive showed a decrease of 91.88% and 82.31%, respectively, from the base mud at 4% concentration. The proposed husk additives acted as a filtrate retarder additive without much deviation from base rheology and with considerably higher pH than the base mud. This investigation indicates that the proposed fluid loss additive and rheological modifier can minimize the environmental hazards and have proved to be a cost-effective eco-friendly alternative in this challenging phase of the hydrocarbon exploration industry.

A Review in Polymers for Fluid Loss Control in Drilling Operations

“…[37,[39][40][41][42] Especially, the watersoluble cellulose derivatives, mainly including polyanionic cellulose (PAC), carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC), hydroxyethyl cellulose (HEC) and carboxymethyl hydroxyethyl cellulose (CMHEC), hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC), have been widely applied as filtrate reducers in oilfield drilling. [37,39,40,[42][43][44][45][46][47] For example, Patidar et al [48] employed a kind of cellulose generated from groundnut husk as an environment-friendly filtrate reducer. The celluloses generated from groundnut husk with two different particle sizes of 63-74 and 250-297 μm were prepared by using mesh analysis.…”

Optimization Study on the Filtration Loss of Water Based Drilling Fluid using Groundnut (Arachis hypogaea) Shells Cellulose

“…But the choice of drilling fluid depends on what the drilling formation is doing [4]. Water-based muds (WBM) are used for more drilling fluid applications since oil-based muds have substantially worse environmental effects [5].…”

“…If the rheological qualities significantly decrease, the mud additives are not stable under the downhole circumstances [8]. Drilling fluids and their additives are essential to drilling operations and project costing; as a result, it is necessary to produce environmentally friendly drilling fluid additives that are both affordable and fit the requirements for smooth operation in geologically challenging scenarios [5].…”

“…"The current research demonstrates the process of formation and data analysis of a sustainable drilling fluid system, where biodegradable Arachishypogaea shells (groundnut husks) is used as a fluid loss additive and rheological modifier because; it is environmentally friendly and does not contend with food supply. The cellulose processed from groundnut husks is tested as an alternative for the current practice of using polyanionic cellulose in the drilling fluid formulation" [5]. The drilling mud production process is enhanced by different operating parameters.…”

“…However, there haven't been many investigations on drilling muds that have used Arachishypogaea shells or water-based formation. According to Atul et al, [5], the groundnut shell-based fluid loss additive and rheological modifier can reduce environmental risks and has shown to be a practical and affordable green choice in this difficult stage of the petroleum exploration sector. Researchers have reported a number of further works, as in refs [10,11], among others.…”