Effect of Sawdust and Coconut Fiber Particles on the viscosity of Water-Based Mud

The viscosifying additives used in drilling operations commonly include imported organic polymers like carboxymethyl cellulose and polyanionic cellulose (PAC). The over-reliance on these imported additives in some countries consumes their scarce foreign exchange and increases the Capital expenditure (CAPEX) of the drilling operation. Consequently, cheap, and easily accessible local materials that can perform a similar role are being considered as potential substitutes. This research was conducted to examine the effect of sawdust, coconut fiber and a composite of sawdust and the coconut fiber as a potential viscosifying additive in water-based drilling mud, and the outcomes were compared with carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC). Furthermore, in order to ascertain the best combination ratio for the sawdust and coconut fiber to achieved optimal viscosifying result. The study experimented on three combinations (50:50,75:25, and 25:75) in a 5g concentration of 350ml water-based mud. Ofite Rotational Viscometer was used for measurement of the viscosity. The result shows that sawdust particles are better viscosifying agents when compared to coconut fiber particles and any composite mix of sawdust and coconut fiber particles. In addition, the results show that coconut fiber particles behave as a mud thinning agent as it reduces the viscosity of the water-based drilling mud. The empirical data further indicates that a sawdust mud concentration of 2.5g gave a higher plastic viscosity of 11.3 centipoise when compared to a 2.5g mud concentration of CMC which gave a plastic viscosity value of 9.8 centipoise. The research study also presented values of yield point and gel strength for the nine formulated samples of sawdust, coconut fiber, sawdust and coconut fiber composite and CMC.