Performance evaluation of Si/Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles in water-based mud in presence of different Mg²⁺, K⁺, Na⁺ salts: experimental and stability visualization study

The revolutionized field of nanotechnology emerged in the oil and gas sector to enhance drilling fluid performance. This technology increases the success rate of drilling operations in different environments. However, their performance in presence of various salts has not been entirely discovered up till now. In this research, three different salt mud systems that include KCl, NaCl and MgCl₂ were prepared and coated with silica iron oxide nanoparticles. The rheological and filtration characteristics of all the samples with the joint interaction of salt and nanoparticles were analyzed. Additionally, the stability of the mud samples after the interaction between the two entities was investigated using a visualization tool. This unique application will be useful in observing the changes in the mud system during nonproductive time events (NPT). The result of the study reveals that all the fluids in the presence of these entities showed shear thinning behavior with flow index \(< 1\) $<1$ . Reduction in shear stresses in the salt systems was observed mainly because of the neutralization of the negative charges associated with the base mud system. However, this behavior was weaker in monovalent cations as compared with divalent. KCL/(Si/Fe₃O₄) demonstrates the most stable mud system when investigated through intensity profile plots. Minimum segregation and maximum dispersion were the key parameters that demonstrated its stability. Moreover, all three cations in the presence of Si/Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles reduce the filtrate loss volume and provide a thin and smooth mud cake. The Si/Fe₃O₄ because of its spherical bead shape plugs the pore spacing of the filter paper while blocking of microsize spacing was done with the help of cations.