An Experimental Study of the Effect of Amines on Polymer Efficiency and Thermal Stability of Water-based Drilling Fluid

Abstract

Amine compounds are believed to have acceptable results regarding their use as clay swelling inhibitor and corrosion inhibitor additives in drilling fluids. It is crucial to know the capability of amine compounds to enhance the thermal stability of drilling fluid; herein, a water-based fluid composed of biopolymer and other additives as the proper representatives of muds used in the pay zone section of a well is used. In order to enhance drilling fluid thermal stability to 250 °F (which is about 200 °F for starch in common drilling fluids), the compatibility of four amine compounds (mono ethanolamine, 1,6-diaminohexane, polyamine, and choline chloride) with three polymers (starch-green, poly-anionic cellulose, and starch-high temperature) is investigated; one of the named polymers is also chosen to examine its thermal stability performance along with the mentioned amine compounds at 250 °F. Two percent by volume concentration (2 Vol.%) of the mentioned amines were used. For these purposes, the rheological and filter loss properties were studied. The results showed that the starch-green is almost compatible with four amines. Moreover, mono ethanolamine and 1,6-diaminohexane acted better in terms of thermal stability at elevated temperatures.