Egyptian Journal of Petroleum (2013) 22, 481–491

Egyptian Petroleum Research Institute

Egyptian Journal of Petroleum

www.elsevier.com/locate/egyjp
www.sciencedirect.com

FULL LENGTH ARTICLE

Investigation of some copolymers based on acrylic salts

as circulation loss control agents
Ahmed Mohamed Alsabagh a, Ahmed Abd elsalam Khalil b,
Mahmoud Ibrahim Abdou a, Hany Elsayed Ahmed a, Amany Ayman Aboulrous a,*

a
Egyptian Petroleum Research Institute, Nasr City, Cairo, Egypt
b
Faculty of Science, Banha University, Egypt

Received 6 January 2013; accepted 28 March 2013

Available online 15 December 2013

KEYWORDS
Sodium acrylate;
Potassium acrylate;
Permeability plugging tester;
Spurt loss;
Rheological properties
Abstract In this work, six copolymers were prepared from sodium and potassium acrylate. Both
salts individually were copolymerized with acrylamide, methacrylic acid and acrylic acid at different
ratios. The monomer reactivity ratios for copolymerization reactions of both of acrylate salts with
acrylamide, methacrylic acid and acrylic acid, in solution with azobisisobutyronitrile (AIBN) as an
initiator, were estimated by atomic adsorption analyser. The chemical structure was confirmed by
atomic adsorption spectroscopy and FT-IR spectroscopy.
The prepared copolymers were investigated as loss circulation control materials by measuring dif-
ferent filtration parameters such as; spurt loss, fluid loss and permeability plugging tester value
according to the American Petroleum Institute (API) standard. From the obtained data, it was
found that the 0.6% from the poly[PA-co-AM](0.4:0.6) exhibited the best results of the filtration
parameters among the other copolymers. At the same time all the studied copolymers enhanced
the rheological properties of the drilling mud. These results were discussed on the light of the swell-
ing capacity of the copolymers.
ª 2013 Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of Egyptian Petroleum Research Institute.
Open access under CC BY-NC-ND license.

1. Introduction Lost circulation is defined as partial or total loss of circulation of

mud within the annulus escaping into formations [2]. The strata
Lost circulation is an extremely undesirable and potentially haz- considered in this paper are so called as ‘‘thief’’ formations [3].
ardous situation when encountered during drilling operation [1]. During drilling operations, drilling fluids account for over
5–10% of total costs [4].
* Corresponding author. Therefore, any mud loss increases the total cost i.e. 25–40%
E-mail address: amany.aboulrous@yahoo.com (A.A. Aboulrous). of total cost and contributes to non-productive time of drilling
Peer review under responsibility of Egyptian Petroleum Research jobs. Moreover, detrimental effects of mud losses such as stuck
Institute. pipe, blow outs and frequently [5], the abandonment of expen-
sive wells, should not be forgotten. Moreover, lost circulation
has even been blamed for minimized production tests and sam-
ples, while the plugging of production zones led to decreased
Production and hosting by Elsevier
productivity [6,7].
1110-0621 ª 2013 Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of Egyptian Petroleum Research Institute.
Open access under CC BY-NC-ND license. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ejpe.2013.11.004
482 A.M. Alsabagh et al.

Lost circulation problems may be encountered at any depth In this paper, six sodium and potassium acrylate copoly-
when the total pressure exerted against the formation exceeds mers should be prepared and investigated as lost circulation
the formation breakdown pressure [8–9]. control materials depending on their swelling properties and
Many products and techniques have been used to attempt its monomer reactivity ratios. The chemical composition of
to restore circulation while drilling [10]. The problem is nor- these copolymers may be used to discuss the obtained results.
mally addressed through the application of conventional lost
circulation materials (LCMs), such as calcium carbonate, 2. Experimental
mica, and salt pills.
Recently, treatments based on chemically activated cross- 2.1. Materials
linked pills have shown their effectiveness to plug large frac-
tures under downhole conditions of pressure [11,12]. These
Acrylic acid, methacrylic acid, acrylamide and sodium hydrox-
pills are activated by time and when set; they produce a sub-
ide were purchased from (Aldrich), potassium hydroxide,
stance described as rubbery, spongy and ductile that shows a
methanol, acetone, dimethyl formamide (DMF), and diethyl
good sealing effect that does not let drilling fluid to enter loss
ether were purchased from (Fluka), 2,20 -azobisisobutyronitrile
zones [13]. In spite of this property, it can easily be removed by
(AIBN) was purchased from Biolar company. All chemicals
acid treatment, therefore this material types will not damage
were used as received.
the formations [14].
Main advantages of this crosslinked polymer system are
2.2. Synthesis
firstly, no risk of bit nozzle plugging, and secondly, the ability
of penetrating into wide range of fracture widths [15].
2.2.1. Preparation of sodium and potassium acrylate salts
The main disadvantage of the crosslinked pills lies in the
placement of the fluid because of the crosslinking reactions ini- To a cold solution (0–5 C) of 7.2 g (0.1 mol) of acrylic acid
tiated on the surface. Therefore, a premature gelation can oc- (AA) in (30 ml) methanol was added 4 g (0.1 mol) of sodium
cur far before to penetrate the loss zones [16,17]. hydroxide (NaOH) or (KOH) in (20 ml) methanol drop by

Table 1 Filtration parameters for local water-based mud using different ceramic disks at different pressures.
Conc. Gm V7.5 min [ml] V30 min [ml] PPT value [ml] Spurt loss [ml] Static filtration [ml/min1/2]
100 300 100 300 100 300 100 300 100 300
At 10 micron ceramic disks
6.4% 80 130 100 160 200 320 120 200 14.6 21.9

Table 2 Molar fraction and abbreviation of the prepared copolymers.

Copolymer Sodium or potassium content (%) Monomer composition Copolymer composition
a f1 f2 b F1 F2
Copolymerization of [SA] with [AM]
Poly[SA-co-AM](0.4:0.6) 10 0.67 0.4 0.6 0.45 0.35 0.65
Poly[SA-co-AM](0.3:0.7) 7 0.43 0.3 0.7 0.31 0.24 0.76
Poly[SA-co-AM](0.2:0.8) 5 0.25 0.2 0.8 0.20 0.17 0.83
Copolymerization of [SA] with [MA]
Poly[SA-co-MA](0.4:0.6) 13 0.67 0.4 0.6 1.1 0.52 0.48
Poly[SA-co-MA](0.3:0.7) 11 0.43 0.3 0.7 0.79 0.44 0.56
Poly[SA-co-MA](0.2:0.8) 9 0.25 0.2 0.8 0.56 0.36 0.64
Copolymerization of [SA] with [AA]
Poly[SA-co-AA](0.4:0.6) 12 0.67 0.4 0.6 0.78 0.44 0.56
Poly[SA-co-AA](0.3:0.7) 10 0.43 0.3 0.7 0.56 0.36 0.64
Poly[SA-co-AA](0.2:0.8) 8 0.25 0.2 0.8 0.39 0.28 0.72
Copolymerization of [PA] with [AM]
Poly[PA-co-AM](0.4:0.6) 8 0.67 0.4 0.6 0.50 0.34 0.66
Poly[PA-co-AM](0.3:0.7) 6 0.43 0.3 0.7 0.33 0.25 0.75
Poly[PA-co-AM](0.2:0.8) 4 0.25 0.2 0.8 0.19 0.16 0.84
Copolymerization of [PA] with [MA]
Poly[PA-co-MA](0.4:0.6) 11 0.67 0.4 0.6 1.1 0.53 0.50
Poly[PA-co-MA](0.3:0.7) 9.7 0.43 0.3 0.7 0.66 0.46 0.54
Poly[PA-co-MA](0.2:0.8) 8 0.25 0.2 0.8 0.49 0.38 0.62
Copolymerization of [PA] with [AA]
Poly[PA-co-AA](0.4:0.6) 10.2 0.67 0.4 0.6 0.71 0.44 0.56
Poly[PA-co-AA](0.3:0.7) 8.5 0.43 0.3 0.7 0.50 0.36 0.64
Poly[PA-co-AA](0.2:0.8) 6.8 0.25 0.2 0.8 0.35 0.28 0.72
 483

drop, with stirring [18]. After stirring for 1 h at room temper- vacuum individually. The sodium and potassium acrylates
ature, the reaction mixture was poured into excess acetone and have the shape of a white solid. They were washed, dried
the precipitated sodium or potassium acrylate salts were re- and weighted. The yield of sodium acrylate was 70%, where
moved by filtration and the filtrate was evaporated to dry in potassium acrylate was 75% [19].

O R1
R1 R2
DMF, Solvent
CH2 CH CH2 C
OM + AIBN, Initiator
F2
MOOC F1 R2
70 oC
Acrylate Salts
Monomers
R1 = H, R2 = COOH ---> Acrylic acid (AA) Copolymer
R1 = Ch3, R2 = COOH ---> Methacrylic acid (MA)
R1 = H, R2 = CONH2 ---> Acrylamide (AM)
M = Potassium (K)
or
Sodium (Na)

Figure 1 Synthesis Root of the Co-polymers.

Figure 2 Represents FTIR Spectrum for (a) PAcAM and (b) SAcMA.
484 A.M. Alsabagh et al.

Table 3 Monomer reactivity ratios for copolymerization of SA or PA with AM, MA and AA.
Poly[M1-co-M2] Fineman–Ross method Kelen–Tudos method r1r2
r1 r2 r1 r2 a
Poly[SA-co-AM] 0.7 ± 0.205 1.7 ± 0.15 0.8 ± 0.13 1.7 ± 0.16 0.70 1.2
Poly[SA-co-MA] 0.9 ± 0.04 0.3 ± 0.25 1.1 ± 0.07 0.3 ± 0.35 0.22 0.31
Poly[SA-co-AA] 0.6 ± 0.135 0.4 ± 0.105 0.7 ± 0.15 0.4 ± 0.05 0.26 0.24
Poly[PA-co-AM] 0.7 ± 0.19 1.4 ± 0.167 0.8 ± 0.185 1.6 ± 0.181 0.66 1.3
Poly[PA-co-MA] 0.7 ± 0.39 0.2 ± 0.01 0.7 ± 0.175 0.3 ± 0.14 0.27 0.21
Poly[PA-co-AA] 0.5 ± 0.125 0.4 ± 0.122 0.7 ± 0.08 0.5 ± 0.161 0.33 0.35

Figure 3 Fineman-Ross plots for copolymerizations of SA with: (d) AM, (e) MA and (f) AA and copolymerizations of PA with: (a) AM,
(b) MA and (c) AA.

2.2.2. Preparation of sodium and potassium copolymers
(copolymerization reactions)
The sodium and potassium acrylates were copolymerized with
acrylic acid, methacrylic acid, and acrylamide at different mole
fractions as shown in Table 2.
The copolymers were obtained by the solution polymeriza-
tion method in the presence of azobisisobutyronitrile (AIBN)
as a free radical initiator. Thus the pre-determined amounts
of the comonomers (100 mol) were placed in glass tubes, and
then was added dimethyl formamide. Polymerization was
Figure 4 Kelen- for copolymerizations of SA with: (d) AM, (e) MA and (f) AA and copolymerizations of PA with: (a) AM, (b) MA and
(c) AA.
485
commenced by adding AIBN (1 mol%). The tubes were
capped and thermostated at 70 C for 1–3 h, depending on
the co-monomer pairs and composition. All copolymers were
obtained by precipitation from diethyl ether and were collected
by decantation, then dried and weighted [18].
2.3. Preparation of water-based drilling fluids
The base component of the water-based mud was prepared by
adding 350 ml of fresh water into a laboratory barrel then
486 A.M. Alsabagh et al.

22.5 g of bentonite was poured into the fresh water and they

[ml] PPT value [ml] Spurt loss [ml] Static filtration Rate [ml/min1/2]
were mixed by using a high-speed mixer for 20 min [19]. At
the end of the mixing, the different investigated polymers were
added in different concentrations. When high permeable for-

2.5
2.4
2.0

4.6
3.9
3.6
mations, with mean pore throat of 10 micron, are drilled with

300
this local mud, a seepage loss occurs. The results are shown in
Table 1.

2.4. Swelling capacity measurements (SW)

2.4
2.3
1.5

3.9
3.7
2.9
100
The polymer samples were tested for swelling. The polymer
samples were ground to fine powders. 0.5 g of the sample

35.2
27.8
16.4

37.2
33.8
22.4
300
was then placed in a beaker containing a pre-determined vol-
ume of deionized water. The water sorption was allowed to oc-

31.2
23.6
15.8

37.2
29.6
21.8
cur for at least half an hour at room temperature to reach

100
equilibrium. The swollen polymer was filtered and weighed.
The water uptake, SW (g/g), was determined [20,21]:

48.8

28.4

62.8

42.4
300

41

55
SW ¼ mW =m0 ð1Þ

Filtration parameters for potassium acrylate based copolymers using 10 micron ceramic disks at different pressures.
where mw is the mass of swollen gel (g), and m0 is the mass of

22.4 24.4 44.8

18.2 20.5 36.4
12.1 14.2 24.2

58.8
50.4
38.2
100 300 100
the dry polymer (g).

29.4 31.4
25.2 27.5
19.1 21.2
2.5. Permeability plugging test (PPT test)

Poly[PA-co-AM](0.3:0.7)

Poly[PA-co-AA](0.4:0.6)
30 min
Lost circulation materials were evaluated by using a fann per-

[ml] V
meability plugging apparatus [19,22]. The laboratory studies

17.2
11.2

22.2
16.2
discussed here were carried out using the ceramic disks with

21

25
100 300
min
mean pore throat diameter of 10 micron as a filter medium
at differential pressures 100 and 300 psi. The filtration param-

[ml] PPT value [ml] Spurt Loss [ml] Static filtration [ml/min1/2] V7.5

19
15
10

24
20
15
eters can be made from the data collected at 7.5 and 30 min
intervals according to the following formulas [19]:
PPT ¼ 2  V30 min ð2Þ
1.7
1.6
1.4

2.8
2.8
2.6
300
SL ¼ 2  ðV7:5 min  ðV30 min  V7:5 min Þ ð3Þ

SFR ¼ 2  ½V30 min  V7:5 min =2:739 ð4Þ

1.6
1.5
1.1

7.2
2.7
2.5
where, PPT is the permeability plugging tester value(ml); V30
100

min (ml) is the total filtrate collected in 30 min.; SL is the spurt

loss (ml); V7.5 min (ml) is the filtrate collected in 7.5 min. and
23.6

33.2
29.8
18.4
the SFR is the static filtration rate (ml/min1/2).
300
32

12

2.6. Rheological properties

27.6
18.8
10.4

33.2
25.6
17.8
100

Drilling Fluid viscosity was measured using a Chandler vis-

32.4

54.8

34.4
300
40

20

47

cometer 3500 model [19]. Most successful drilling fluids are

non-Newtonian [23]. Pseudo plastic is a general type of
36.4
14.6 16.2 29.2
16.8

50.8
42.4
30.2

shear-thinning, non-Newtonian behavior that is desirable for

300 100 300 100

drilling fluids [24]. The Bingham plastic and power-law models

[25,26] describe a pseudo plastic behavior of the drilling fluids.
25.4 27.4
19.2 21.2 23.5
13.2 15.1 17.2
18.2 20

8.4 10

The applied shear rate ranged from 5 to 1022 s1.

Poly[PA-co-AM](0.4:0.6)

Poly[PA-co-MA](0.4:0.6)
V30 min

2.6.1. Bingham plastic model

gpl: ¼ R600  R300 ð5Þ

18
14

22
8
[ml] min

sB ¼ 0:48  R300  PV ð6Þ

6.8
V7.5

100
16
12

21
17
12

gapp: ¼ R600 =2 ð7Þ

Conc.%
Table 4

where, gpl. is the plastic viscosity (cP), R600 is the dial read-
ing at 600 r/min, R300 is the dial reading at 300 r/min, sB is the
0.1
0.3
0.6

0.1
0.3
0.6

yield point (lb/100 ft2), and gapp. is the apparent viscosity (cP).

Figure 5 Illustrates concentration versus filtration parameters for potassium acrylate based copolymers at 100 psi (a) filtrate volume, (b)
PPT, (c) Spurt Loss.
2.6.2. Power law model
n
s ¼ kc
Logs ¼ log k þ n log c
where k, and n are consistency and flow index, respectively, s is
the shear stress, and c is the shear rate.
3. Results and discussion
The synthesis root of the six copolymers is shown in Fig. 1.
Their chemical structures were justified by FTIR and atomic
absorption.
The FT-IR spectra for the poly[PA-co-AM] and poly[SA-co-
MA] copolymers are shown in Fig. 2(a, b). The two stretching
bonds of (N–H) appeared at 3376 and 3170 cm1. The stretch-
ing of amide (NHC‚O) was observed at 1639 cm1. The peak
at 1422 cm1 is the stretching bond of C–N and 969 cm1 is an-
other peak related to the amide group. The peak at 1203 cm1
pointed to (C–O) stretching peak of (–COOK) (Fig. 2a).
In Fig. 2b for poly[SA-co-MA], a wide band corresponding
to stretching vibrations of the hydroxyl group appeared at
3430 cm1. The characteristic absorption bands at the wave
number 1642 cm1 pointed to deformation vibrations of (C–
OH) meanwhile the two bands at 1447 and 1363 cm1 typically
donated the salts of carboxylic acids. The band corresponding
to stretching vibrations of (C–O) and deformation vibrations
of (C–O–H) group appeared at the wave number 1199 cm1.
Table 2 shows the percentage of the sodium and potassium
content in the prepared copolymers. Both the FT-IR and the
487
atomic absorption spectroscopy confirmed the chemical struc-
ture of the prepared copolymers.
ð8Þ For the industrial preparation of any copolymers, the
knowledge of reactivity ratio is very essential. The reactivity
ð9Þ
ratios of Na-A or K-A with AM, MA and AA were evaluated
from the monomer feed ratios and the copolymer composition.
Table 2 illustrates the analytical data for copolymerization
reactions of Na-A or K-A with AM, MA and AA. From the
values of feed and copolymer composition, the monomer reac-
tivity ratios (r1 and r2) for each system were evaluated using
Fineman–Ross [27] and Kelen–Tudos [28] methods as given
in Table 3. Figs. 3 and 4 show the Fineman-Ross and Ke-
len–Tudos plots respectively for all studied systems. The values
of r1 and r2 obtained by Fineman–Ross and Kelen–Tudos
methods are almost identical. The r1r2 values for poly[SA-co-
MA], poly[SA-co-AA], poly[PA-co-MA] and poly[PA-co-AA]
(0.31, 0.24, 0.21 and 0.35, respectively) indicates that the
copolymer should have a random distribution of the monomer
units, while for the poly[SA-co-AM] and poly[PA-co-AM] sys-
tems, the r1r2 values (1.2 and 1.3), respectively, illustrate a low
tendency of monomers to be alternated, and the copolymer
should be composed mainly of small sequences of monomeric
units of the same type.
3.1. Filtration parameters for the studied copolymers
From filtration parameters Tables 4 and 5, it can be deduced
that the filtration parameters are enhanced by increasing the
concentration of copolymers and by increasing the molar ratio
of acrylates monomer in the studied copolymers.
488 A.M. Alsabagh et al.

From (Table 4), the potassium acrylate based copolymers;

[ml] PPT value [ml] Spurt loss [ml] Static filtration rate [ml/min1/2]
it was found that the poly[PA-co-AM](0.4:0.6) exhibited better
results among poly[PA-co-AM](0.3:0.7) and poly[PA-co-
MA](0.4:0.6). The worst results were obtained by poly[PA-co-

2.7
2.4
2.4

4.5
4.3
4.0
AA](0.4:0.6) as shown in Fig. 5. The filtration loss was: 8.4,

300
12.1, 15.1 and 19.1 ml, respectively for the four copolymers.
By changing the pressure from 100 to 300 psi, the poly[PA-
co-AM](0.4:0.6)exhibited the best performance in the all filtra-
tion parameters such as; filtrate volume after 30 min; PPT va-

2.3
2.1

4.2
3.9
3.5
1.6
100 lue; spurt loss and static filtration at 0.6% concentration.
By investigation the data in Table 5, for sodium acrylate
based copolymers, the poly[SA-co-AM](0.4:0.6) shows the best
43.8

48.8
36.8
25.2
300

32
20
results among poly[SA-co-AM](0.3:0.6) and poly[SA-co-
MA](0.4:0.6). The bad results were obtained by poly[SA-co-
39.6
28.2

44.4
33.2
22.4
17.4

AA](0.4:0.6) as shown in Fig. 6.

100

By comparing the results of Tables 4 and 5, it was found

that the poly[PA-co-AM](0.4:0.6) is better than the poly[SA-
58.6
45.6

73.6
60.8
48.4
33.6
300

co-AM](0.4:0.6).
At concentration 0.6% with using 10 micron ceramic disk
26.2 29.3 52.4
19.9 22.8 39.8

67.6
54.8
41.6
13.3 16.8 26.6

and pressure 100 psi, the filtrate loss after 30 min (ml) was
100 300 100
Filtration parameters for sodium acrylate based copolymers using 10 micron ceramic disks at different pressures.

12 and 8.4 against; poly[SA-co-AM](0.4:0.6) and poly[PA-co-

AM](0.4:0.6), respectively, On the other hand the spurt loss
33.8 36.8
27.4 30.4
20.8 24.2
Poly[SA-co-AM](0.3:0.7)

was decreased from 16 to 10.4 ml against; poly[SA-co-

Poly[SA-co-AA](0.4:0.6)
min

AM](0.4:0.6) and poly[PA-co-AM](0.4:0.6), respectively. By inves-

[ml] V30

tigating the results of permeability plugging tester value, it was

found that the poly[PA-co-AM](0.4:0.6) pronounced the best re-
25.6
19.4

30.6
24.4
18.4
13.4

sults among the other studied copolymers which were based on

100 300
min

potassium or sodium acrylates. The same result was exhibited

[ml] PPT value [ml] Spurt loss [ml] Static filtration [ml/min1/2] V7.5

23
17

28
22
16
11

by examining the static filtration rate values with the same

ranking. By analyzing the filter cake data, it was found that
the filter cake for potassium acrylate based copolymers is more
elastic and without any bubbles (ranging from 0.11 to
2.4
2.2

2.8
2.7
2.5

0.12 mm). The results obtained by the copolymers based on so-

300

dium acrylate (ranging from 0.12 to 0.14 mm) and their filter
cakes also have stability and no bubbles. The obtained good
results by the poly[PA-co-AM](0.4:0.6)in the filtration parame-
ters may be due to the poly[PA-co-AM](0.4:0.6) that has the
2.2
1.8
1.4

2.5
2.2
1.8
100

highest swelling capacity among the other studied copolymer

as shown in Fig. 7 and it forms a swollen gel so that the swol-
42.4
30.4
18.8

47.4
35.4
23.8

len gel may induce the formation of an external filter cake in

300

front of pores during the compressibility which leads to com-

plete plugging of the pores to prevent the filtration loss as
26.8

31.8
100
38

16

43

21

shown in Sketch 1.
43.2
30.8

50.2
37.8
300
56

63

3.2. Swelling capacity measurements

18.4 18.6 21.6 37.2

44.2

The chart of swelling capacity of the studied copolymers in

50

15.4 24

57

31
300 100 300 100

Fig. 7 justified that the poly[PA-co-AM](0.4:0.6) is in the former

27.6 28.5 31.5
21.4 22.1 25.1
15.4 15.5 18.9

use among the other studied copolymers in the drilling fluid

28
Poly[SA-co-AM](0.4:0.6)

Poly[SA-co-MA](0.4:0.6)

formation. From Fig. 7 the poly[PA-co-AM](0.4:0.6) absorbs

min

fast the largest amount of water and forms a larger gel so it

24.6 25

12.4 12
V30

can plug the pores. This result may be due to the potassium
ion smaller than sodium ion so its mobility is faster than so-
[ml]

dium acrylate copolymers. The acrylamide is better than the

min

other co-monomers due to the hydrophilicity of the primary

V7.5

100
22
16
10

25
19
13

amide group (-CONH2) and then the methacrylic copolymers

because they contain higher percent of sodium and potassium
ions than the acrylic copolymers as in Table 2.
Conc.%
Table 5

These results reflected why the poly[PA-co-AM](0.4:0.6)

exhibited the good results among the other studied
0.1
0.3
0.6

0.1
0.3
0.6

copolymers.

Figure 6 Illustrates concentration versus filtration parameters for sodium acrylate based copolymers at 100 psi (a) filtrate volume, (b)
PPT, (c) spurt loss.
Figure 7 Illustrates swelling capacity for sodium and potassium
acrylate based copolymers.
3.3. Effect of loss circulation control materials on the rheological
properties
3.3.1. Bingham plastic model
This study is to investigate the negative and positive effect of
materials on the rheological properties of mud [29]. The used
materials exhibited a positive effect. From Table 6, they in-
creased the rheological properties such as; the (sB) yield point,
gpl., gapp., the gel strength and thixotropy. The studied copoly-
mers are thixotropic fluids which enhance the property of sus-
pending the cutting materials during drilling process. From the
data in Table 6, one can deduce that the poly[SA-co-AA](0.4:0.6)
(sB = 35.5, gpl. = 2, gapp. = 40 and thixotropy = 2) has the
lowest rheological properties while the poly[PA-co-
AM](0.4:0.6) (sB = 52.4, gpl. = 10, gapp. = 70 and thixot-
489
Sketch 1 Shows the mechanism of copolymers as lost circulation
control materials through their swelling capacity.
ropy = 5) exhibited the highest rheological properties. From
the achieved results, it is obvious that, the studied copolymers
can be used as a good viscosifier because they raise the gel
strength of the bentonite water suspension.
3.3.2. Power law model
The pattern of the curves obtained from the shear stress and
shear rate relationship at the various materials showed that
the shear stress and shear rate have a nonlinear manner as
shown in Figs. 8 and 9. This relationship between the shear
stress and shear rate showed that the muds obeyed the power
law model for non-Newtonian fluid. In addition, the nonlinear
relationship between the shear stress and shear rate showed
that the muds are pseudoplastic. According to Alderman
490 A.M. Alsabagh et al.

Table 6 Rheological properties of water-based drilling fluid (M) and with 0.6% conc. of the studied copolymers.
Materials Bingham plastic parameters Power law parameters
Plastic Apparent Yield Gel strengths(0 min) Gel strength(10 min) Thixotropy Flow Consistency
viscosity viscosity point sB [lb/100 ft2] [lb/100 ft2] [lb/100 ft2] index [n] index
gpl [cP] gapp [cP] [lb/100 ft2] [lb.sn/100 ft2]
M 3 26.5 47 28 31 3 0.04 29.6
Poly[PA-co-AM](0.4:0.6) 10 70 52.4 79 84 5 0.1 62
Poly[PA-co-AM](0.3:0.7) 6 65 53.5 90 95 5 0.1 59
Poly[SA-co-AM](0.4:0.6) 5 60 50.2 87 91 4 0.08 57
Poly[SA-co-AM](0.3:0.7) 5 55 45 77 81 4 0.08 66
Poly[PA-co-MA](0.4:0.6) 4 50 42 62 66 4 0.06 69
Poly[SA-co-MA](0.4:0.6) 4 45 37.2 64 67 3 0.06 78
Poly[PA-co-AA](0.4:0.6) 3 42.5 37.4 65 67 2 0.07 81
Poly[SA-co-AA](0.4:0.6) 2 40 35.3 73 75 2 0.07 67

Figure 8 Shear rate versus shear stress for potassium acrylate based copolymers.

Figure 9 Shear rate versus shear stress for sodium acrylate based copolymers.

Figure 10 Relationship between effective viscosity (cP) versus shear rate (s1) for potassium acrylate based copolymers.

Figure 11 Relationship between effective viscosity (cP) versus shear rate (s1) for sodium acrylate based copolymers.
et al. [30], a fluid is pseudoplastic when the consistency curve
obtained from the shear stress and shear rate relationship
passes through the origin and is nonlinear.
It is observed from Table 6 that the flow index, n, is less
than 1 for each mud with the various studied copolymers.
According to Mewis et al. [31], the fluid which has n value less
than 1 (n < 1) is said to have pseudoplastic flow behavior.
Further examination of Table 6 revealed that, the flow index
n, and the consistency index, k, increased with an increase in
the viscosity of materials. This may be due to the fact that as
viscosity increases, the resistance of the fluid to the applied rate
of shear or force, called shear stress, increases, and gives rise to
an increase in the flow index. Thus, the increase of the flow in-
dex, n, with viscosity resulted from the increase of shear stress
which required causing the flow of mud. The increase of con-
sistency index, k, with the investigated materials resulted from
the increase of the overall thickness of the mud. Figs. 10 and 11
show the relation between effective viscosities (cP) versus the
shear rate (s1) for the investigated copolymers and we can
conclude that the effective viscosity decreased with increasing
the applied shear rate.
4. Conclusion
The main conclusion of this work can be drawn in the follow-
ing points;
 The lost circulation control materials’ performance depends
largely on its rheological behavior with the mud.
 The filtration characteristics are enhanced by increasing the
molar ratio of acrylate salts in the studied copolymers.
 Lost circulation control material can block the pores by
forming external filter cake and by gel formation, further
decreasing the permeability.
 The filtration characteristics are enhanced by increasing the
concentration of the studied copolymers.
 The poly[PA-co-AM](0.4:0.6) exhibited the highest perfor-
mance properties at 0.6% concentration.
 As good results of thixotropy, gel strength and viscosity, the
studied copolymers can be used as viscosifier for the water-
based mud.
References
[1] G.R. Gray, H.C.H. Darley, Composition and Properties of
Drilling and Completion fluids, fifth ed., Gulf Publishing Co.,
Houston, Tex., 1988.
491
[2] J.K. Fink, High performance Polymers, first ed., Gulf
Publishing Co., Houston, Tex., 2003.
[3] G.V., Vorabutr, P. Chilingarian, Drilling and Drilling Fluids,
first ed., vol. 50, 133, Elsevier, Amsterdam, 1983, pp. 149–151.
[4] J. Adach, L. Bailey, Schlumberger, IADC/SPE 87224, 2004.
[5] R. Aguilera, Naturally Fractured Reservoirs, second ed.,
Pennwell Publication, 1995.
[6] J. Burton D. Catalin, T. Heinz, SPE/IADC 67735, 2001.
[7] B.E. Canson, SPE/IADC 13440, 1985.
[8] D. Caughron, D. Rentrow, J. Bruton, SPE 74518, 2002.
[9] E. Davidson, L. Richardson, S. Zoller, SPE/IADC 62734, 2000.
[10] E. Fidan, T. Babadagli, E. Kuru, IADC/SPE 88005, 2004.
[11] J.F. Gockel, C.E. Gockel, M. Brinemann, SPE/IADC 16082,
1987.
[12] M. Hettema, B. Bostrom, T. Lund, SPE 90442, 2004.
[13] C. Ivan, J. Burton, M. Thiercelin, SPE 77353, 2002.
[14] R. Kharrat, Petroleum University of Technology, Ahwaz, Iran,
2000.
[15] E. Lecolier, B. Herzhaft, Inst. Français du Petrle SPE 94686,
2005.
[16] F. Mata, M. Veiga, BJ Services, SPE 90496, 2004.
[17] M. Nayberg, R. Betty, SPE 14723, 1986.
[18] R. Jayakumar, R. Balaji, S. Nanjundan, Eur. Polym. J. 36
(2000) 1659.
[19] American Petroleum Institute, ANSI/API 13B-1, 2009.
[20] Shaopeng Wang, Yufei Wang, Jingjing Li, 2nd International
Conference on Materials, Mechatronics and Automation
Lecture Notes in Information Technology, vol.15, 2012.
[21] D. Erizal, Ind. J. Chem. 12 (2) (2012) 113–118.
[22] Fariba Ganji, Samira Vasheghani-Farahani, Ebrahim
Vasheghani-Farahani, Iran. Polym. J. 19 (5) (2010) 375–398.
[23] N. Davis, P. Mihalik, P.R. Lundie, Growcock Fred, G. Calloni,
Eniricerche, E. Davidson, SPE/IADC Drilling Conference held
in Amsterdam, Holland, 1999.
[24] S. Ergun, Investigation on Rheological and Filtration Properties
of Sepiolite Clays, in Turkish, Senior Graduation Design
Project, Istanbul Technical University, Turkey, 2004.
[25] C. Ching, D. Kaplan, E. Thomas, Technomic. Lancaster, Penn.,
1993.
[26] L. Xiaoqing, L. Yishan, Q. Yuanzhi, J. Oil Gas Technol. 31 (5)
(2009) 326–328.
[27] M. Fineman, S.D. Ross, J. Polym. Sci. 5 (1950) 258.
[28] T. Kelen, F.J. Tudos, Macromol. Sci. Chem. A9 (1975).
[29] G. Onyia, F. Fuh, SPE 24599 SPE Annual Technical Conference
and Exhibition, 4–7 October, Washington, D.C, 1992.
[30] N.J. Alderman, D.R. Babu, T.L. Hughes, G.C. Maitland, 4th
international Congress on Rheological, Sydney, I, 1988, p. I.
[31] J. Mewis, J.F. Willaim, A.S. Trevor, W.B. Russel, J. Chem. Eng.
Res. Develop. ALCHE, 19 (1989) 415.