Clays in Drilling Fluids.PPTVIP

Topic overview Do you want to know about 1: Introduction The group of minerals classed as clays play a centrale role in many areas of petroleum technology such as: Drilling and formation stability Drilling fluid technology Reservoar productivity Since the elements that constitute the clays account for more than 80% of the mass of the earth (Al 8%, Si 27.7%, O 46.6%), it can be readily realized that every stage of drilling a hole brings contact with clays. There are over 400 mineral and rock names to describe clay minerals. Basic Features There are a number of features of the clay minerals that distinguish them as a group: Fine size (less than 2mm) Large surface area Chemical reactivity of the surface Composed of the same chemical components 2: Fundamental Building Units Clay is composed essentially of silica, alumina and water. Lesser quantities of iron, magnesium, sodium and potassium. Tetrahedral Layer In each tetrahedral unit, a silicon atom is located in the centre of a tetrahedron, eqidistant form four oxygen atoms, or hydroxyls, if needed to balance the structure. The silica tetrahedral groups are arranged to form a hexagonal network, which i repeated infinitely to form a sheet of composition Si4O6 (OH)4. Octahedral Layer This unit consists of two sheets of closely packed oxygens or hydroxyls in which aluminium, iron or magnesium ions are embedded in octrahedral coordination Structures of Clay Minerals The fundamental units of tetrahedral sheets and octahedral sheets can combine with the hydroxyl group of the tetrahedral layer contributing to the octahedral layer. Different combinations of these units and chemical modification of the basic structure give rise to the range of clay minerals with different properties. 3: Clay Mineral Groups There are over 400 mineral and rock names to describe clay minerals. We will restrict our attention only to a few minerals that are most common and most applicable minerals to petroleum technology: Montmorillon