Bacterial Nanocellulose as a Polymeric Additive for Drilling Operations

SEBASTIÁN DELL ELCE; MARÍA EUGENIA TAVERNA; JIMENA BOVI; YURANY VILLADA; CARLOS BUSATTO; LAURA FORESTI; DIANA ESTENOZ

Medellín

Workshop; IX Summer School CONVERGING TECHNOLOGIES IN ENERGY TRANSITION (EV2022); 2022

Universidad Nacional de Colombia

Drilling fluids are commonly used in oil and natural gas exploitation operations. In recent years, there has been a growing interest in the design of nanoparticles-based drilling fluids due to the great potential of nanoparticles for enhancing fluids performance. In particular, the effect of different types of nanoparticles on the functional properties of water-based drilling fluids (WBMs) has been studied, and an improvement of rheological, filtration, and thermal properties was reported. Bacterial nanocelluloses (BNCs) are nanofibers obtained from the fermentation of different substrates by various microorganisms. Their renewable nature and characteristics, including a high surface area to volume ratio, high strength, and stiffness, make them attractive for use in WBM design. This study evaluates the use of BNC as a novel polymeric additive for WBMs.Drilling fluids based on bacterial nanocellulose (BNC) were designed. The performance of BNC in WBMs was assessed and compared with the corresponding xanthan gum (XGD). The rheological properties of WBMs were determined by steady shear assays using a viscometer. Several rheological models, including Power Law, Sisko, and Herschel-Bulkley, were used to predict the rheological behavior of fluids. The thermal stability of the WBMs was evaluated through the aging test in an electric oven at 90°C for 24 hours. Inhibition assay was carried out by preparing bentonite (BT) pellets and submerging them in 0.1% wt BNC, and 0.1% wt XGD suspensions, respectively. In addition, the drilling fluids with BNC were treated with enzymatic agents to evaluate their reutilization in the cementing operation. The enzymatic treatment was performed by the incorporation of several cellulase concentrations in the WBMs and the changes in viscosity were determined under different conditions of temperature, pH, and time.Rheological studies showed that WBMs containing BNC exhibited higher viscosities than those containing XGD. All the rheological models accurately fitted the data and revealed a non-Newtonian and pseudoplastic behavior. Whereas thermal stability tended to be similar in both fluids, the presence of BNC led to a slight weakening of inhibition parameters. Finally, a decrease in rheological properties for the WBMs based on BNC was observed with the cellulase incorporation at low pH and temperature. This result indicates the possibility of reuse of fluids for the cementing operation.The obtained results suggest that BNC constitutes a potential additive as a replacement of XGD in the design of WMBs. In addition, the possible reuse of the WBMs after modification with enzymes in later stages of the hydrocarbon exploitation would make the operations more sustainable.