Considering Factors involving in Selection of Decanter Centrifuge

• Dec 29, 2014
• Drilling mud decanter centrifuge is the last stage in drilling mud circulation base on the first stage shale shaker, the second stage desander and the third stage desilter. Decanter centrifuge is mainly used to separate solids particles wit...

Drilling mud decanter centrifuge is the last stage in drilling mud circulation base on the first stage shale shaker, the second stage desander and the third stage desilter. Decanter centrifuge is mainly used to separate solids particles with its diameter between 2 um to 10 um generally. There are 2 kinds of decanter usually used in the drilling plant, full flow rate and half flow rate decanter centrifuge.

Half flow rate centrifuge is mainly used for retrieving and weighting barite in the drilling fluids and its processing fluids come from the separating fluids from desilter separator. While the other one is mainly used to separate solids phase in the drilling mud and usually it processes the overflow fluids from desilter, and this is the most popular type centrifuge in the drilling plants.

Drilling mud decanter centrifuge is usually used in the deep well drilling and there is not so much use to apply it in middle and shallow well drilling. Meanwhile, the system capacity decides the centrifuge processing capacity. Also, Good selection of proper pumps such as submersible slurry pump and screw pump to match with the centrifuge is still another very important considering factor involving in selection of the equipment to fit the solids control system.

The working process of the equipment is as the following description. High-speed rotating drum drives inner mud rotate speedily and then the mud is thrown onto drum’s surface to form a fluid circle. Under the centrifugal force, solid sedimentary force in the separated liquid will be several hundred even thousands of times heavier than its own gravity so as to separate the solids from the suspension quickly. The ratio of centrifugal force which the solids have gained and the solid’s gravity is called as separating factor. The larger the centrifugal force, the finer the separated solids, so three types of centrifuge can get according to separating factor.