CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND OF STUDY
Far way back in 1900, while drilling an
oil well in Spindle tops Texas, the drilling crew used various muddy
slurry of water and clay as drilling mud. Today drilling fluids are
still called drilling mud, but engineers no longer rely only on a
mixture of water and clay. Instead, they carefully design compounds and
mixtures with both local and foreign materials to meet specific needs of
drilling operation under various drilling conditions. Modern and
modified drilling fluids are truly life blood of the wells.
Drilling mud is a mixture of two or more
phases consisting of a liquid phase (water, oil, or other synthentic
oil) and a solid phase consisting of clay mixed with addition of
certain chemical substances (additives). Drilling mud performs several
functions, some of which are lubricating the bit, transporting cuttings
to the surface, control of formation pressure. It is also called the
life blood of the rotary drilling operation, in the sense that without
it, drilling is almost impossible.
Considering the desired formation
condition and reactive chemical compounds encountered by the drilling
mud during the drilling operation, it is necessary to continually
monitor the mud properties and prescribe possible solution to keep the
fluid in good condition. Properties that must be monitored include; mud
weight, viscosity, filtration properties, pH. Certain materials are used
to improve these properties.
This project is concerned with enhancing
the pH of drilling mud using egg shell and snail shell as local
additives for the substitution of imported chemicals such as potassium
hydroxide (KOH), sodium hydroxide (NaOH) . The control of pH is very
essential in the drilling operation as most of the equipment used are
made of metal and pH is the degree of acidity or alkalinity of a
substance, hence if the drilling mud is acidic( pH less than 7),
corrosion of the drilling equipment is bound to take place. Therefore
when drilling operation is being performed in an acidic formation, the
drill pipe, drill collars and drilling bit will corrode as a result of
the acidity of the subsurface, hence the need of enhancing or improving
the pH of the drilling mud have to be properly taken care of, by certain
pH enhancers or modifiers.
This research therefore aims to study
the suitability of egg shell and snail shell as local additives to
enhance the pH of mud, both materials are easily accessible as waste and
biodegradable hence using egg shell and snail shell will reduce cost
and also improve waste management.
1.2 AIM AND OBJECTIVES
The aim and objective of this work is to
investigate in the laboratory the suitability of egg shell and snail
shell waste as local materials in improving the pH of mud.
1.3 SCOPE AND LIMITATION
This work is restricted only to the use of prepared samples of egg shell and snail shell as pH enhancers.
1.4 METHODOLOGY
The mode of the research to be employed
in this work include review of past projects, internet information,
books, and empirical analysis in the laboratory.