Abstract:
A new swelling lost circulation material (LCM) has been developed to replace LCMs presently in use which have these drawbacks such as polluting clad material, low strength and high cost. The new LCM is synthesized though solution free radical polymerization of acrylic acid (AA), acrylamide (AM), bentonite, inert material (such as walnut shell, mica, and polypropylene fiber), N, N-methylene-bis-acrylamide, potassium persulfate and sodium bisulfite. The synthesized product is cladded with environmentally friendly plant capsule. Evaluation of the LCM developed showed that in a 15% Na-bentonite slurry, the LCM can absorb water of 113 times of its own volume. The elastic modulus of the LCM is 4.46 kPa. The LCM has temperature tolerance of 100℃, NaCl resistance of 15%, and ordinary CaCl2 resistance. The plant capsule contains no heavy metals, and is quite environmentally friendly. In cladding the LCM, it is shattered for 8-30 min at ambient temperature, and 517 min at 70℃, and the final product will satisfy the need for filed operation. When used alone, the LCM plugs fractures of 1-2 mm in width, and has pressure bearing capacity of 3 MPa. When used in combination with 20% coarse inert particles, it plugs fractures of 1-4 mm in width, and the pressure bearing capacity will be 4 MPa. If 20% fine inert particles are used with the high concentration of LCM (4%, for instance), the compounded LCM is not able to plug fractures of 1-2 mm. When mixed (compounded) with inert particles, the pressure bearing capacity of the compounded LCM can be greatly enhanced (above 5 MPa), and less LCM (0.3%-0.5%) will be needed to plug fractures of 1-4 mm in width. Compared with other conventional lost circulation materials, this new LCM saves drilling cost by RMB 2 000-4 000 per ton, and is of great prospects in field application.