Development and Evaluation of Eco-Friendly Drilling Mud Using Potato Peel Powder and Hematite as Additives

Abstract Drilling mud is an important material use in managing subsurface pressure and the environmental condition of the drilling Area. This study explored the feasibility of using potato peel powder as biodegradable additives and hematite as weighing material in drilling fluid systems instead of non-environmentally friendly and costly chemical additive. The research evaluates their impact on mud properties at different concentration of the biodegradable addictive at standard condition. The results were compared to American Petroleum Institution (API) standard. Water based drilling Mud was prepared with different concentration of processed potato peel powder and hematite as additives. The samples were mixed using a high-speed mixer to ensure homogeneity. Mud properties including rheological properties (plastic viscosity, yield point and gel strength), filtration loss and density test were conducted on each sample using laboratory equipment. Each test was conducted at standard temperature and pressure (STP) conditions. The obtained results were compared to the standard drilling mud properties given by American Petroleum Institution. After the analysis of the sample prepared, a change was observed in the plastic viscosity, yield point and the Gel strength of the mud, the changes were due to the potato peel powder addictive added since the significance of the change increase with the concentration of the prepared addictive added. Hematite also altered the density of the samples prepared. With agrowaste such as Potato Peel Powder an Environmentally friendly addictive can be used as a substitute for the chemical additive already adopted for drilling operation. Adopting an agrowaste in drilling Operation will not only reduce drilling cost but also promote sustainable practices in the Oil and Gas sector. This research as shown and recommend an alternative additive for drilling mud which is economically and environmentally friendly. Potato and hematite are locally available for mud Engineer to access at a very low cost compared to the chemical additive which are prepared with imported materials. Easy access material as mud additive will significantly reduce drilling cost.