Synthesis and properties of deformable porous polymeric particle for oil-based drilling fluids

The conventional filtration loss reducers, which help reduce the invasion into the formation, often make the rheology of the oil-based drilling fluid difficult to control. In this paper, the new type of porous deformable polymeric particle was synthesized as filtration loss reducer (FLR), through dispersion polymerization using acrylamide and stearyl methacrylate. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimeter, thermogravimetric analysis, contact angle apparatus, nitrogen adsorption/desorption techniques and scanning electron microscope have been carried out to confirm the chemical structure of the FLR. The results illustrated that FLR is a hydrophobic porous solid particle with deformability. The oil-based drilling fluid loaded with FLR retains high temperature resistance up to 180°C and the density of 2.2 g/cm 3 . The FLR help reduced the filtration loss to 3.2 mL, smaller than their counterparts, and synthesized FLR has small impact on the rheology of drilling fluids.