Solids Control

• Low gravity (clay, s.g.2.6) or high gravity

(barite s.g.4.2)
• Purposely added or drilled solids
• Particle sizes
– Cuttings > 440 micron
– Sand > 74 micron
– Silt 2 to 74 micron
– Clay 0.5 to 2 micron
– Colloids < 0.5 micron
 Methods of Controlling Solids
• Mechanical treatment
– Screening
– Gravity separation
• Chemical treatment
• Dilution of whole mud
• Jetting or discarding whole mud
 Shale Shaker
• Vibrating screens with one or more layers
• Volume of mud that can be processed depends
on: size of openings, percent of open area, type
of motion, speed and amplitude of vibration, mud
properties, type size and amount of solids
• Rate of solids discharge depends on: type of
motion, speed and amplitude of vibration, mesh
design, screen strength
• API Bulletin 13C
 Hydrocyclones
• Designed to speed up the settling process
• Feed pressure is transformed into centrifugal
force inside the cyclone to accelerate particle
settling
• Consist of a conical shell with small opening at
the bottom for underflow discharge, a larger
opening at the top for liquid discharge, a feed
nozzle on the side of the body near the wide end
of the cone
 Hydrocyclone

* No moving parts
* Pressure drop * Low cost
* Diameter
 Hydrocyclones
• Size of particles that can be separated
depends on: size of cyclone, split ratio of
underflow/overflow, inlet header pressure
• Size (in.) Remove particle down to (m)
12 74 (Sand)
8–6 40 (Sand + Silt)
4–3 15 (Silt)
2 5 (Silt)
 Mud Cleaners
• Combination of desilter and fine screen
(120-400 mesh) to process the desilter
underflow
• Remove fine drilled solids from weighted
mud while returning valuable mud additives
and liquids back to the active mud system
 Decanting Centrifuges
• Remove or “decant” free liquid from the
separated solid particles and leave only adsorbed
or “bond” water on the surface
• Consist of a conveyor screw inside a solid bowl
rotated at very high speeds (1500-3500 rpm)
• Larger and heavier solids will settle to the wall
and be scraped to the tapered end of the bowl
where they are ejected
• Solids contain adsorbed liquid only while liquid
overflow contains dissolved and colloidal particles
Decanting Centrifuge
 Density Control
Ideal mixing
mB
V 2  V 1  VB  V 1 
B
When the final volume of mud is not limited

( B   1)
V 2 V 1
( B   2 )

m B  (V 2 V 1) B
 Example 2.16
• It is desired to increased the density
of 200 bbl of 11 ppg mud to 11.5 ppg
using API barite. The final volume is
not limited.
( B   1) ( 35 . 0  11 . 0 )
V 2 V 1  200
( B   2 ) ( 35 . 0  11 . 5 )
V 2  204 . 255 bbl .
m B  (V 2 V 1) B  ( 204 . 255  200 )( 42 )( 35 )
m B  6 ,255 lbm
 Density Control (Cont.)
Additional water required to wet Barite, approx. 1
gal of water per 100 lbm of API barite is added
to prevent unaccepatble increase in fluid
viscosity V 2  V 1 VB Vw  V 1  m B  m BVWB
B
 1  w VwB 
 B ( 1  BVwB )   2 
V 1 V 2 
 B ( 1  w VwB )   1 
 1  BVwB 
B
m B  (V 2 V 1)
1  BVwB
 Example 2.17
• It is desired to increased the density of 800 bbl
of 12 ppg mud to 14 ppg using API barite. A final
volume of 800 bbl is desired. One gal of water is
added for each 100-lbm sack of API barite.

 1  8 . 33 ( 0 . 01 ) 
 35 ( 1  35 ( 0 . 01 ) )  14 
V 1  800    700 . 53 bbl
 35 ( 1  8 . 33 ( 0 . 01 ) )  12 
 1  35 ( 0 . 01 ) 
 Example 2.17 Cont’d
Thus, 99.47 bbl of mud should be discarded
before adding any API barite.
35
mB  (800  700.53)(42)
1  35(0.01)
mB  108,312 lbm
Volume of water to be added

0 . 01m B  1,083 gal or 25 . 79 bbl .