Preparation of Environmentally Friendly Nano Lithium Magnesium Silicate-Cellulose-Gelatin Composite Gel and Study on its Ability to Control Mud Losses

In the context of the global oil exploration and development in the strict implementation of environmental protection regulations, the development of an environmentally friendly and excellent performance of the plugging agent is undoubtedly a highly effective solution to deal with the leakage of drilling wellsIn sol-gel reactions, nano-lithium magnesium silicate (nLMS), hydroxypropyl methyl cellulose (HPMC) and gelatin (Gel) are blended together in a fixed mass ratio. nLMS particles at high temperatures can disperse more evenly in the blend system, and their high specific area promotes their strong adhesion on the surfaces of the Gel\HPMC substrate, these three substances interact with each other through hydrogen bonds and physical entanglement. Through physical-chemical interaction between nLMS and HPMC as well as nLMS and Gel, a hydrogel with highly crosslinked network structure was developed. The hydrogel was then processed by vacuum freeze drying method to produce nLMS-Cellulose-Gelatin particles which were characterized by IR analysis, UV analysis, thermogravimetric analysis, XRD analysis and rheometer measurement. The nLMS-Cellulose-Gelatin particles were measured for their rheological property, plugging performance and pressure bearing capacity in drilling fluids. The results show that nLMS-Cellulose-Gelatin particles have good filtration control property, mud loss control capability, pressure bearing capacity and compatibility with other drilling fluid additives.