12/7/2018 How to Measure K+ Concentration in Mud? | Adventures!

How to Measure K+
Concentration in Mud?

MAY 27, 2011FEBRUARY 10, 2018 / AGUSHOE

i
2 Votes

Mud properties are things that every day I’m dealing with. my
mudschool instructor once said, controlling it is like a juggling,
when any properties go off-spec, then we need to get them back
while controlling others to be in acceptable range. For example,
when The YP (yield point) goes up either because of contamination
or increasing of solid, it affects to the increasing of ECD (equivalent
circulating density). Higher ECD, obviously, going to be dangerous
for drilling operation as there’s a limit for pressure in wellbore. The
YP must be reduced ’till the allowable range. It can be done by
dilution, addition of defflocculant, reduction solid content, etc. If
first option is taken, mud weight will be goes down. See? ,

So far I work with Water Base Mud with KCl-Polymer system. The
standard mud properties that I always measure are mud weight,
funnel viscosity, PV (plastic viscosity), YP (yield Point), gels strength,
API fluid loss, pH, alkalinity (Pm, Pf, mf), hardness (total, Ca specific),

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12/7/2018 How to Measure K+ Concentration in Mud? | Adventures!

K+, MBT, sand content, and solid content. It takes about 45 minutes to
complete all the procedure. It’s so chemistry. A basic chemistry
actually.

(h ps://agushoe.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/cu ings-
evidence.png)
The comparison of cu ings evidence in Shale Shaker. an adequate
concentration of K+ looks much nicer and smooth (left), otherwise it
got sticky cu ings (right)

K+ concentration is important parameter and being one of the main

concerns when drilling a shale or clay formation. The K+ will be
going down in mud out from the well, as some of them is stick in
shale/clay formation to inhibit water invasion into it (prevent
swelling). One of the cu ings evidence when the K+ is depleted is
sticky and often stuck in shaker, when we have adequate K+
concentration, it looks much nicer and easily coming out like
smooth with no sticking each other. The practical field test to
measure K+ concentration in is by hand crank centrifuge.
Following are the procedure:

Equipment:

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(h ps://agushoe.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/equipment.png)
the apparatus needed and the precipitate formed when it’s already
cranked

1. Clinical centrifuge tubes: Pyrex, Kolmer-type (Corning #8360)

only, 10 mL
2. Centrifuge: horizontal-swing rotor head, manual or electric,
1800 rpm
3. Standard sodium perchlorate solution: 150 g in 100 mL distilled
water3
4. Standard potassium chloride solution: 14.0 g dry KCl dissolved
in distilled water and made up to 100 mL in a volumetric flask,
0.5 mL of standard KCl solution made up to 7.0 mL with H2O =
1% KCl solution

Preparing Standard Curve for Potassium Chloride

(h ps://agushoe.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/curve-of-
precipitate.png)
curve of precipitate

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12/7/2018 How to Measure K+ Concentration in Mud? | Adventures!

1. Prepare standards over the range of 1% to 8% KCl by adding the

appropriate number of milliliters of standard potassium
chloride solution (0.5 mL per 1% KCl) to centrifuge tubes and
diluting to the 7.0 mL mark with distilled water.
2. Add 3.0 mL of sodium perchlorate solution to each tube.
3. Centrifuge4 for one minute and read precipitate volume
immediately.
4. Plot milliliters of precipitate versus percent potassium chloride,
using rectangular graph paper as shown in picture

Field Procedure

1. Measure 7.0 mL of APl filtrate into the centrifuge tube.

2. Add 3.0 mL of sodium perchlorate solution to the tube. If
potassium is present, precipitation occurs immediately.5
3. Centrifuge for one minute and read precipitate volume
immediately.
4. Determine potassium chloride concentration by comparing
precipitate volume measured with the standard curve for
potassium chloride.
5. Immediately dispose of precipitate by rinsing from tube into
bucket of water. Dump water in a remote area of drilling site so
that the precipitate can disperse and decompose.

High Potassium Chloride Concentrations

The accuracy of the method is dependent upon measuring

potassium concentrations between approximately 2% and 8% KCl.
If the filtrate potassium concentration is much less than 2% KCl, the
method becomes inapplicable. If the filtrate potassium
concentration is greater than 7% KCl, dilution may be accomplished
as follows:

1. Pipe e 2.0, 3.0, or 4.0 mL of filtrate into the centrifuge tube and
dilute with water to the 7.0 mL mark.
2. Correct results by multiplying % KCl by 7, divided by volume of
filtrate used (2.0, 3.0, or 4.0 mL).

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(h ps://agushoe.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/formula.png)
DON’tT USE IT. I found a curve for standard KCl solution and its
formula in any rig. Actually, the curve is specific for every KCl as
some packaging has different purity

Practically in the field, we measure with simple way with not really
accurate result. Sometime I feel that’s not true. The procedure must
be applied whatever it takes. So first, I have to make a standard
solution, then make a chart, then bla..bla..bla. Quite time consuming
. When there’s a lot of time available.

(h ps://agushoe.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/potassium-
concentration.png)
Table for K+ concentration in different amount of precipitate

Well, one of my senior really did a great job in it. He does really
brilliant. Here’s the things: we can used a table to know how much
K+ concentration directly from the amount of precipitate. Let say,
when I got 2.6 mL amount of precipitate, so I got 2.5 ml = 60.664
plus 0.1 mL = 2406 or 63070, we wrote it thousands commonly, so it
was reported around 63000 mg/L. how’s that? Smart, right?

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