Improving performance of water-based drilling fluid at elevated temperatures using diatomite/polyacrylamide nanocomposite

The nanomaterials are expected to improve water-based muds' performance. The main objectives of this paper are; (i) preparation of the diatomite/polyacrylamide nanocomposite by grinding the diatomite then using the ultra-sonication technique to prepare the diatomite/polyacrylamide nanocomposites, then the nanocomposite was characterized by different methods as Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, dynamic light scattering (DLS), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and X-ray diffraction (XRD), and (ii) investigate the effect of diatomite/polyacrylamide on the water-based mud performance in terms of the filtration and rheological properties at elevated temperatures. From data results, all nanocomposites improved the performance of water-based mud compared to the conventional polyacrylamide-based mud. The results showed that yield point, plastic viscosity, and gel strength of mud increase as the concentration of diatomite nanoparticles in the nanocomposite increases. Also, the results show a decreasing behavior in mud cake thickness and fluid loss. For instance, the diatomite/polyacrylamide nanocomposites contain two grams of diatomite nanoparticles, exhibited plastic viscosity of 18, 17, 16, and 11 cp, and yield points of 38, 37, 37, and 35 Ib/ft2 at temperatures 86, 122, 158, and 194 °F, respectively. Moreover, cake thickness and fluid loss were reduced by 30 and 40% compared to the traditional polyacrylamide-based-mud.