PLANT DERIVED CELLULOSE COMPOSITIONS FOR USE AS DRILLING MUDS Russian patent published in 2018 - IPC D21C5/00 

FIELD: drilling of soil or rock.

SUBSTANCE: present invention relates to water-based drilling fluids. It has been found that cellulose based particles, which comprise cell wall material and their networks of cellulose based fibres and nanofibrils can be used to produce suspensions having viscosity and rheological properties particularly suitable for use as a drilling fluid. It is assumed that the organisation of the cellulose fibrils, as it exists in the parenchymal cell walls, is at least partly retained in the cellulose based particles of the invention, even though part of the pectin and hemicellulose is removed therefrom. Breaking plant-based pulp down into this kind of cellulose based particles involves fewer and gentler processes than to break the pulp down further into cellulose nanofibrils, and therefore the present cellulose based particles can be produced much faster and at lower cost than completely unraveled cellulose nanofibrils. Well drilling fluids based on the cellulose material of this invention are stable over a wide range of operating temperatures.

EFFECT: plant derived cellulose compositions for use as drilling muds are disclosed.

15 cl, 2 tbl