A novel thermo-associating polymer as rheological control additive for bentonite drilling fluid in deep offshore drilling

Thermo-associating polymers have aroused strong research interest owing to their attractive characteristics. Novel thermo-associating copolymer (PGBA) using a new thermo-responsive macro-monomer was synthesized and characterized through 1H NMR, GPC and elemental analysis. Results from TGA indicated that PGBA had excellent thermal stability. According to rheology test and zeta potential experiments, rheological stability of bentonite drilling fluid in a wide temperature range (4-85 degrees C) was significantly enhanced through PGBA before and after hot rolling aging tests, which was owing to the thermosensitive association behavior and the adsorption and stabilization on bentonite particles of PGBA. This paper provided us a novel strategy of using the synergistic effects of thermo-associating polymer and bentonite to develop the constant rheology profile in the temperature range of 4-85 degrees C for deepwater drilling. (c) 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

A novel thermo-associating copolymer (PGBA) was synthesized and its thermal stability was confirmed, enhancing the rheological stability of bentonite drilling fluid in a wide temperature range. The improvement was attributed to the thermo-sensitive association behavior and adsorption on bentonite particles of PGBA.