Water-based mud is a generic term of versatile circulating liquids satisfying different drilling requirements in exploration efforts. It plays a leading role in actual oil drilling operations. In terms of composition, it is a multi-phase dispersed system including bentonite, additives, weighting materials, brine and drill cuttings. In terms of fluid media, it is a drilling fluids with water as continuous fluid media. Water -based mud extends to deep well drilling mud, dispersed drilling mud, calcified drilling mud, brine drilling mud, non-dispersed drilling mud and MMH drilling mud.

Ways to boost its density :

1. It is better to remove coarse solids and keep bentonite and solid content within designed limits first.
 

2. It is better to evenly inject weighting materials with weighting device along the cycle whose density is best kept between 0.01g/cm3 and 0.04 g/cm3(unless confronted with kick and spill).

3. It is better to improve mud’s lubricating property with proper amount of lubricant when high-density drilling mud are made denser.

4. After all, it is better to adjust mud properties within designed limits.

Adjustment of Water-based Mud Density :

1. Based on actual operations, it is proper to apply solids control system against harmful solids and to get down nud density by input of additives or lower-density mud from identical system, etc.

2. It is better to add weighting materials and proportional weighted fluids for boost of mud density. The weighting materials can be barite, iron ore, limestone powder, and so on.

But the too much cuttings in the drilling fluids is harmful to the whole drilling process.How to remove cuttings from drilling mud? It relates to oilfield solids control equipment. Oilfield shale shaker can ensure that drilling fluids can be recycled so as to be reused. Actually shale shaker is just a part of solids control equipment for drilling mud system. In order to make sure the excellence in drilling mud cleaning process, shale shaker is used together with other parts of drilling processes. Drilling fluids consists of water, oil and some chemical materials. How to reduce them? Apart from drilling shale shaker, vacuum degasser can be used. It is used later than the shale shaker, while earlier than mud cleaner and decanter centrifuge.