Abstract

Inhibitive effect of potassium methylsiliconate on hydrated swelling of montmorillonite

Author(s): G.Jiang, Y.Xuan, Y.Li, M.Ma

This paper aims at evaluating the inhibition of potassiummethylsiliconate on hydratedswelling ofmontmorillonite andexploringthe inhibitivemechanism. The result of linear swelling tests shows that potassiummethylsiliconate exhibits ahighperformance as an effective shale inhibitor in drillingfluids.The inhibitionmechanismof potassiummethylsiliconatewas investigated bymeans of a varietyofmethods, including Fourier transforminfrared spectroscopy (FT-IR),Xraydiffraction( XRD), transmissionelectronmicroscopy (TEM), zeta potential, et al.The outstanding inhibition of potassiummethylsiliconate is derived fromthe syn-ergyof potassiumcations andmethylsiliconate anions. Methylsiliconate anions canforma hydrophobic region surrounding the individualmontmorillonite particle through the adsorption on the edge sites, thus inhibiting the ingress ofwater into the interlayer.The primaryrole of potassiumions is to lead to the formation of a less hydratable structure ofMMTthrough cation-exchange interaction.