ISSN print edition: 0366-6352 ISSN electronic edition: 1336-9075 Registr. No.: MK SR 9/7 Published monthly

Nanoparticle-enhanced water-based drilling fluids: comparative effects of silica, graphene, and zeolite on rheology and filtration

Sajjad Mozaffari, Omeid Rahmani, Ali Esfandyari Bayat, and Armin Hosseinian

Department of Petroleum Engineering, Faculty of Petroleum, Chemical and Polymer Engineering, SR.C., Islamic Azad University (IAU), Tehran, Iran

E-mail: omeidrahmani@gmail.com

Abstract:

Water-based drilling fluid (WBM) often experiences rheological instability, excessive fluid loss, and temperature-related degradation during drilling operations. Nanoparticles (NPs) improve the performance of WBM by addressing these challenges; however, there is limited comparative data across different NP types, concentrations, and temperatures. This study systematically investigates silica, graphene, and zeolite NPs at 0.01–0.1 wt.% in polymer-containing WBM at 25, 50, and 80 °C. The morphology, crystal structure, surface charge, and colloidal stability of the NPs were characterized to gain insights into mud cake quality. Rheological properties, including plastic viscosity (PV), yield point (YP), gel strength (GS), fluid loss (FL), and equivalent circulating density (ECD), were evaluated in accordance with American Petroleum Institute standards (API 13B-1/13A/13I). Within the tested range (0.01–0.1 wt.%), 0.07 wt.% exhibited the best overall performance for all three NP types, improving WBM rheological and filtration properties while avoiding the aggregation-induced degradation observed at 0.1 wt.%. At 80 °C and 0.07 wt.%, silica NPs were highly effective in enhancing PV (44 cP vs. 40 cP base mud, + 10%), YP (14 lb/100 ft² vs. 7 lb/100 ft² base, + 100%), and GS (7.4 lb/100 ft² vs. 6.8 lb/100 ft² base, + 9%). In contrast, graphene NPs delivered the greatest FL improvement (3.7 mL vs. 4.8 mL base, − 23%), attributed to their flake-like morphology, which enables geometric pore sealing and platelet alignment in the filter cake. Graphene-based mud cakes showed the lowest permeability (1.03 × 10⁻⁵ D vs. 1.88 × 10⁻⁵ D base, − 45%), thereby improving wellbore stability. Although ECD slightly rises with the addition of NPs, the values stay within acceptable limits for balanced-pressure drilling. Overall, the findings indicate that NP shape and surface charge significantly influence WBM performance, with silica enhancing rheological control and graphene reducing filtration. This comparative study offers new insights into designing cost-effective, environmentally friendly NPs for high-temperature drilling operations.

Full paper is available at www.springerlink.com.

DOI: 10.1007/s11696-026-04790-w

Chemical Papers 80 (6) 6615–6640 (2026)