Section

3a

wbm testing procedures

procedures pH indicator strips

1) Place an indicator strip in mud and allow it to remain for one minute to
allow the colour to stabilise.
2) Rinse the strip off with deionised water but do not wipe.
3) Compare the colours of the strip with the standard chart provided and
estimate the pH to the nearest .5.

procedures pH meter
1) The pH meter must be calibrated, as per the manufacturers instructions,
on a regular basis (at least once a week, more frequently if meter usage is
high. Buffer solutions used must be within their use by date. Do not
re-cycle the buffer solutions used to calibrate the meter. Throw them away
each time and use fresh samples of the buffer solutions every time the
meter is calibrated.
2) For accurate pH measurements the test fluid, buffer solutions and
reference electrode must all be at the same temperature i.e. ambient
temperature.
3) Insert the electrode into the fluid contained in a small glass flask and swirl
gently.
4) Measure the fluid pH according to the directions supplied with the
instrument. When the meter reading becomes constant record the pH to
the nearest 0.1 of a unit.
5) Thoroughly clean off electrode with distilled water and store it in
accordance with manufacturers recommendations.

interpretation
Trickle treatments of either sodium hydroxide or potassium hydroxide are
usually made to maintain the pH in the optimum range of 8.5 to 9.5. A quick
check with the pH meter will avoid a situation where pH increases above this
range due to over treatment or drops too low due to under treatment.
The usual tendency is for the pH to drop slowly as alkaline ions are neutralised
by other naturally occurring ions. A rapid drop in pH can indicate such hazards
as acid gas or CO2 influxes.

filtrate alkalinity Pf and Mf

discussion
Alkalinity can be considered as the acid-neutralising power of a substance.
Alkalinity measurements can be made on either the whole mud (designated
with the subscript m) or on the filtrate (subscript f ). The data collected
can also be used to estimate the concentrations of hydroxyl (OH-), carbonate
(CO3--) and bicarbonate (HCO3-) ions in the drilling fluid.
Pf and Mf refer to titrations performed on the mud filtrate (f ). The P refers to
the indicator Phenolphthalein and thus Pf refers to the mls of 0.02N sulphuric
acid required for the indicator colour change at a pH of 8.3.
The M refers to the indicator Methyl Orange and the Mf is the mls of 0.02N
sulphuric acid for the colour change that at occurs at a pH of 4.3.
The Mf includes the acid taken to get to the Phenolphthalein end point and so
will always be equal to, or greater than, the Pf.

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