Document Type : Original Article
Authors
1
Department of Mining, Petroleum and Metallurgical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Cairo University, Egypt
2
Packaging Materials Department, Chemical Industries Research Institute, National Research Centre, 33 El Behooth St., Dokki, Giza, Egypt
Abstract
Enhancing the oil industry's extraction operations is the aim of developing effective drilling fluids using nanotechnology. The rheological and filtration properties of conventional water-based drilling fluid (WBDF) could therefore be improved by using this approach. Titanium nitride (TiN), graphene oxide (GO), and boron nitride (BN) nanoparticles were all employed as single or hybrid additives for WBDF enhancement, and the results were promising. However, in the current work, few layers graphene oxide (FLGO) was synthesized via oxidation of graphite followed by sonication. Then, the obtained graphene oxide nanosheets were functionalized with both boron nitride (BN) and titanium nitride (TiN) nanoparticles using a simple physical mixing approach in aqueous medium. Particularly, the ratios between the three components (GO, BN, and TiN) were changed according to a design programed by Design-Expert software in order to eventually prepare six samples of the same nanocomposite (S1, S2, S3, S4, S5 and S6) but different in the ingredient percentages. These sets were evaluated in WBDF under Low-Pressure-Low-Temperature (LPLT) well conditions utilizing a fixed concentration (0.5 wt. % per each set) as an additive in water-based mud (WBM). The morphology, crystal structure, and the chemical composition of the prepared graphene oxide and its modified derivative were investigated using scanning electron microscope (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and Fourier transfer infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) in order to confirm the successful decoration of the nanosheets with the guest nitrides nanoparticles. The results were compared with a base case drilling fluid with no nanomaterial and demonstrated a significant improvement in the rheological properties of WBM by samples containing 40–60% BN and TiN nanoparticles, which showed a reduction in plastic viscosity (PV) up to 31 %, and increasing in Yield point (YP) values up to 61%. Meanwhile, gel strength was enhanced by all samples. Conversely, samples containing 40% and 60% of FLGO and TiN reduced the filter cake thickness close to 30% and the filtration nearby 35%. PH values of mud composition were found acidic due to the presence of GO. The outcomes of this study appear to be an optimistic move forward and demonstrate how important nanotechnology is to improve the performance of drilling fluids, lowering drilling expenses, and reducing non-productive time (NPT).
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