Extracting and Developing Nano Carboxymethyl Cellulose for Enhanced Drilling Fluid Formulation Using Local Resources

Abstract Cellulose-based additives serve as vital raw materials in oil and gas industry to resolve various issues encountered during drilling operations, including excessive fluid invasion and poor hole cleaning while offering environmentally friendly and sustainable solutions. The objective of this study is to extract and develop nano carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) from local resources to enhance drilling fluid formulations. The specific goals included optimizing the extraction process, evaluating the performance of nano CMC in drilling fluids, and assessing the sustainability and cost-effectiveness of utilizing local resources. The process involved selecting of cellulose-rich source material such as date palm waste, subjected to pre-treatment, delignification, and bleaching to remove impurities. The extracted cellulose is further processed to obtain crystalline nanocellulose (CNC) through acid hydrolysis. Subsequently, carboxymethylation is performed by reacting the CNC with monochloroacetic acid, yielding nano CMC with enhanced solubility and functionality. Throughout the process, various characterizations are conducted to assess the chemical composition, morphology, structural properties, and thermal stability of the extracted cellulose and synthesized nano CMC. These characterizations include X-ray diffraction, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscope (SEM), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and degree of substitution. The study successfully yielded nano CMC from local resources, with FTIR confirming the presence of carboxymethyl groups, and XRD pattern showing more intense peaks in nano CMC, indicating a higher degree of crystallinity compared to the untreated cellulose. TGA results exhibited a high thermal degradation temperature of N-CMC compared to extracted cellulose, and SEM images revealed well-defined nanoscale structures. The optimization of the carboxymethylation process led to a degree of substitution (DS) of 0.9 to further enhance the functionality of the nano CMC.