Comparative Investigation of the Effect of Pulverized Egg Shell and Potato Peel Powder as Additives on Rheological Properties of Water-Based Drilling Fluid

Abstract

The typical additives applied in mud preparation for oil well drilling usually have detrimental effects on the environment and crew safety. However, additives of biodegradable origin have the capacity to eliminate these effects. This study employed a mixture of two food wastes (egg shell and potato peel powders), which were dried and pulverized as alternative drilling fluid additives. A variety of muds prepared with different quantities of the additives (potato peel powder (PPP) and egg shell powder (ESP)) were subjected to rheological and filtration testing. According to the results obtained, ESP lowers the yield point and filtrate loss by an average of 65 % and 2.2 %, respectively, while increasing plastic viscosity and mud density by 50% and 0.75%, respectively, at higher concentrations. Additionally, the additions were able to lower the pH by one unit. In contrast, PPP demonstrated a decrease of about 50% in each of plastic and apparent viscosities, yield point, and pH, while boosting mud density and filtrate reduction at higher doses. When coupled, ESP and PPP indicated a 25 % drop in plastic viscosity and yield point but enhanced mud density, lowered filtrate, and enhanced mudcake formation at lower concentrations. These findings suggest that while ESP and PPP can change a range of fluid properties, their careful combination in drilling mud formulation has great potential to improve all desirable rheological and filtration features when compared to traditional additives like sodium carbonate and xanthan gum.