Journal of Advanced Chemical Engineering

Abstract

Study on the Effect of Nanoparticle Loadings in Base Fluids for Improvement of Drilling Fluid Properties

Chai YH, Suzana Yusup and Chok VS

Nanotechnology is increasingly capturing the attention of material researchers as this technology pushes the limits and boundaries of the pure material itself. Liquids dispersed with nanoparticles generally have higher physical properties enhancements. In the current study, ball-milled functionalized –COOH carbon nanoparticles were introduced into the targeted base fluid of drilling mud. The investigating parameter involved in this study is carbon nanoparticle loadings, ranging from 0 wt% to 1.0 wt%, which is readily dispersed in the base fluid. The method of dispersion chosen is through indirect dispersion in ultrasonic bath. The effect and significance of the investigating parameters were studied based on the desired physical properties of ideal base fluids for drilling muds, mainly thermal conductivities and viscosity of the fluid. The conditions for dispersion in this study were ball-milled functionalized –COOH carbon nanoparticle size at an average size of 10 μm with 90 minutes of indirect ultrasonic dispersion. Result shows that addition of functionalized nanoparticles into base fluids yields as much as 6% of thermal conductivity enhancement while approaching viscosity of pure base fluid at higher shear rate.