Nano-SiO₂/Polymer Composite Gel Fluid-Loss Reducer for High-Temperature, Salt-Resistant Water-Based Drilling Fluids: Performance and Mechanism.
- 1CNPC Engineering Technology R&D Co. Ltd., Beijing 102206, China.
- 2School of Petroleum Engineering, China University of Petroleum-East China (UPC), Qingdao 266580, China.
- 3Project Department of Tight Oil and Gas Exploration and Development, PetroChina Southwest Oil & Gas Field Company, Chengdu 610051, China.
Abstract
Polymeric gel fluid-loss reducers for water-based drilling fluids often undergo performance deterioration under combined high-temperature and high-salinity conditions. In this study, an organic-inorganic nanocomposite gel fluid-loss reducer, SiO₂@P-DAS, was synthesized through aqueous free-radical polymerization using N,N-dimethylacrylamide, 2-acrylamido-2-methylpropane sulfonic acid, sodium styrene sulfonate, and KH-570-modified nano-SiO₂. The corresponding polymer gel without nano-SiO₂, P-DAS, was used as the control. FTIR results were consistent with the presence of modified nano-SiO₂ in the composite gel. Thermogravimetric analysis showed that its initial decomposition temperature increased from 245 °C for P-DAS to 252 °C for SiO₂@P-DAS. At a concentration of 3.0 wt%, the post-aging API filtrate volume of SiO₂@P-DAS was 3.8 mL, compared with 4.8 mL for P-DAS after aging at 220 °C for 16 h. Under HTHP conditions of 220 °C and 3.5 MPa, the corresponding filtrate volumes were 33.33 and 49.67 mL, respectively. SiO₂@P-DAS also maintained lower fluid loss under NaCl and CaCl₂ contamination. At 5 wt% CaCl₂, its post-aging API filtrate volume was 6.8 mL, 58.0% lower than that of P-DAS. In weighted drilling fluids with densities of 1.4-2.0 g/cm³, the post-aging API and HTHP filtrate volumes remained within 2.4-3.2 and 24.6-26.2 mL, respectively. Zeta-potential, particle-size, and filter-cake observations suggest that polymer adsorption and hydration, together with the contribution of modified nano-SiO₂ to particle packing and filter-cake continuity, improve filtration control. These results demonstrate the potential of SiO₂@P-DAS as a nanocomposite gel fluid-loss reducer for high-temperature and salt-contaminated water-based drilling fluids.
Related
- Construction of rGO/WO3/SiNWs Ternary Composite Structure and Its Low-Temperature NO2 Gas-Sensing Performance
- Phosphogypsum-Based Composite Cementitious Porous Filter Media: Performance Regulation and Phosphate Adsorption Mechanism
- Synergistic Effects of Mechanical Properties and Self-Healing in Borate-Based Hydrogen-Bond Dynamic Crosslinked Gels in High-Temperature Water-Based Drilling Fluids
- Temperature Increase Limitation During Automatic Bone Drilling in Orthopedic Surgery.
- Drilling performance and hole quality optimization of h-BNNS-reinforced Al-nanocomposites using NSGA-II and TLBO algorithm
BibTeX
@article{liu2026nanosio₂polymer,
title = {{Nano-SiO₂/Polymer Composite Gel Fluid-Loss Reducer for High-Temperature, Salt-Resistant Water-Based Drilling Fluids: Performance and Mechanism.}},
author = {Luman Liu and Jingping Liu and Yuan Geng and Ren Wang and Beiqiao Meng and Shifeng Gao and He Li and Zhe Xu and Yi An and Yuanwei Sun},
journal = {Gels (Basel, Switzerland)},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.3390/gels12100895},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42929929},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Nano-SiO₂/Polymer Composite Gel Fluid-Loss Reducer for High-Temperature, Salt-Resistant Water-Based Drilling Fluids: Performance and Mechanism.
AU - Luman Liu
AU - Jingping Liu
AU - Yuan Geng
AU - Ren Wang
AU - Beiqiao Meng
AU - Shifeng Gao
AU - He Li
AU - Zhe Xu
AU - Yi An
AU - Yuanwei Sun
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/03
JO - Gels (Basel, Switzerland)
DO - 10.3390/gels12100895
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42929929
AB - Polymeric gel fluid-loss reducers for water-based drilling fluids often undergo performance deterioration under combined high-temperature and high-salinity conditions. In this study, an organic-inorganic nanocomposite gel fluid-loss reducer, SiO₂@P-DAS, was synthesized through aqueous free-radical polymerization using N,N-dimethylacrylamide, 2-acrylamido-2-methylpropane sulfonic acid, sodium styrene sulfonate, and KH-570-modified nano-SiO₂. The corresponding polymer gel without nano-SiO₂, P-DAS, was used as the control. FTIR results were consistent with the presence of modified nano-SiO₂ in the composite gel. Thermogravimetric analysis showed that its initial decomposition temperature increased from 245 °C for P-DAS to 252 °C for SiO₂@P-DAS. At a concentration of 3.0 wt%, the post-aging API filtrate volume of SiO₂@P-DAS was 3.8 mL, compared with 4.8 mL for P-DAS after aging at 220 °C for 16 h. Under HTHP conditions of 220 °C and 3.5 MPa, the corresponding filtrate volumes were 33.33 and 49.67 mL, respectively. SiO₂@P-DAS also maintained lower fluid loss under NaCl and CaCl₂ contamination. At 5 wt% CaCl₂, its post-aging API filtrate volume was 6.8 mL, 58.0% lower than that of P-DAS. In weighted drilling fluids with densities of 1.4-2.0 g/cm³, the post-aging API and HTHP filtrate volumes remained within 2.4-3.2 and 24.6-26.2 mL, respectively. Zeta-potential, particle-size, and filter-cake observations suggest that polymer adsorption and hydration, together with the contribution of modified nano-SiO₂ to particle packing and filter-cake continuity, improve filtration control. These results demonstrate the potential of SiO₂@P-DAS as a nanocomposite gel fluid-loss reducer for high-temperature and salt-contaminated water-based drilling fluids.
SN - 2310-2861
ER -