Minimization of Ultra-High Temperature Filtration Loss for Water-Based Drilling Fluid with ß-Cyclodextrin Polymer Microspheres

Due to the rapid degradation of conventional biopolymer or synthetic polymeric additives at high temperature (HT) or ultra-high temperatures (ultra-HT), effective control of water-based drilling fluid filtration in HT or Ultra-HT environment is still a great challenge in drilling operation. β-cyclodextrin polymer microspheres (β-CPMs), generally using for drug release and waste water treatment, are evaluated as environmentally friendly ultra-HT filtration reducer. The impact of the microspheres on water-based drilling fluids’ properties including rheology and filtration prior to and after hot rolling at different temperatures ranging from 120 to 240°C was investigated. The high temperature and high pressure (HTHP) filtration properties of the microspheres compared to several commercial high temperature filtration reducers were conducted according to the API recommended procedures. The filtration controlling mechanism was analyzed from zeta potential measurement, particle size distribution measurement, and scanning electron microscope observation of filter cake. The results indicated that the β-CPMs exhibited peculiar filtration behavior differently from conventional additives. When the hot rolling temperature was below 160℃, β-CPMs performed a 30% filtration reduction at 1 w/v% content in comparison with control sample. Once the hot rolling temperature was above 160℃, the capacity of filtration control was further improved with increasing temperatures. This is contrast with conventional filtration reducers that the filtration control capacity deteriorate with increasing temperatures. The microspheres still exhibited superior filtration control after exposure to 240℃. Furthermore, β-CPMs showed little effect on the drilling fluid's rheology. When the temperature was below 160℃, the filtration reduction was obtained by water absorption and swelling of β-CPMs. When the temperature was above 160℃, hydrothermal reaction occurred for β-CPMs. Numerous micro- and nano-sized carbon spheres formed, which bridge across micro and nanopores within filter cake and reduce the filter cake permeability effectively. When the temperature was higher than 160℃, hydrothermal reaction occurs. Carbon spheres generated by the hydrothermal degradation of the β-CPMs, which are responsible for the effective filtration control. The hydrothermal reaction changes the adverse effect of high temperature into favorable improvement of filtration control, which provides a novel avenue for HT and ultra-HT filtration control. The β-CPMs show potential application in deep well drilling as environmental friendly and high temperature filtration reducers.

Preparation and Performance Research of Magnetic Polymer Microspheres

In this thesis, polystyrene magnetic polymer microspheres with good monodispersity and carboxyl functional groups were prepared. The adsorption properties of styrene-acrylic acid magnetic polymer microspheres to bovine serum albumin have been studied.. Using Fe3O4 magnetic fluid as the magnetic core and styrene-acrylic acid copolymer as the polymer shell, composite microspheres with very small particle diameters were prepared by the dispersion polymerization method.