Water-based mud is a generic term of versatile circulating liquids satisfying different drilling requirements in exploration efforts. It plays a leading role in actual oil drilling operations. In terms of composition, it is a multi-phase dispersed system including bentonite, additives, weighting materials, brine and drill cuttings. In terms of fluid media, it is a drilling fluids with water as continuous fluid media. Water -based mud extends to deep well drilling mud, dispersed drilling mud, calcified drilling mud, brine drilling mud, non-dispersed drilling mud and MMH drilling mud.

Ways to boost its density:

1. It is better to remove coarse solids and keep bentonite and solid content within designed limits first.

2. It is better to evenly inject weighting materials with weighting device along the cycle whose density is best kept between 0.01g/cm3 and 0.04 g/cm3(unless confronted with kick and spill).
 

3. It is better to improve mud’s lubricating property with proper amount of lubricant when high-density drilling mud are made denser.

4. After all, it is better to adjust mud properties within designed limits.

Adjustment of Water-based Mud Density:

1. Based on actual operations, it is proper to apply drilling solids control system against harmful solids and to get down mud density by input of additives or lower-density mud from identical system, etc.

2. It is better to add weighting materials and proportional weighted fluids for boost of mud density. The weighting materials can be barite, iron ore, limestone powder, and so on.

Drilling mud is recirculated throughout the drilling process. As it rises to the surface, it passes through drilling mud shale shaker that screens the materials from the borehole, before being cycled back into the system that delivers mud to the head of the drill bit. This recirculation process, called as drilling mud solid control system, is designed to cut down on waste by reusing as much mud as possible. Solid control system is the first stage of the drilling mud recirculation process, which includes a lot of equipment, shale shaker, degasser, drilling fluids mud cleaner( consists of drilling mud desander and desilter), centrifuge, and other components, such as, jet mud mixer, mud agitator, mud gun, and mud tanks.