Resumen

ARIZA LEON, EMILIANO  y  FAJARDO MOLINA, ADRIAN CAMILO. FEASIBILITY OF USING PLANTAIN STARCH AS DRILLING FLUID ADDITIVE. Rev. ion [online]. 2011, vol.24, n.1, pp.15-22. ISSN 0120-100X.

Plantain starch is composed of a linear molecular fraction (amylose) and a branched molecular fraction (amylopectin), these components have demonstrated high functionality in field tests and they have shown interesting features that contribute to the optimization of water-based drilling fluids, such features allows: to increase drilling fluids viscosity, to improve filter loss control and to extend bentonite properties as mud viscosity enhancer. In this study, by applying API standard laboratory tests, was evaluated the capability of plantain starch: to increase the viscosity of water-based drilling fluids, and to improve the performance of other additives commonly used in oil industry such the bentonite, it was also evaluated the response of the plantain starch as filter loss controller in lime contaminated environments; tests carried on in this study were: fresh water and brine yield tests, filtration control tests, performed in a variety of contamination scenarios frequently observed in well drilling operations, and extension of the properties of bentonite in fresh water tests. According to the results of this investigation it was found that plantain starch can be used as a drilling mud additive due to its outstanding technical performance, superior to other similar products widely used in well drilling activities.

Palabras clave : drilling fluids; viscosity; filtration control; bentonite.

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