WorldWide Drilling Resource

How Far Will Your Camera See? Part 2 by Ray Roerick International Sales Manager, Well-Vu, Inc. Last month, we talked about the poor visibility in some wells not allowing for a clear video picture to be able to make an informed and intelligent diagnosis of a well for your client. Also, we got a start on a recently (National Sanitation Foundation) NSF-approved flocking agent. Thanks to Wyo-Ben and great friend Stewart Krause for sharing their research and product for municipal wastewater, a different industry, CLEARTREAT ® has proven to be very successful in water well flocculation. Other flocculants on the market are Baroid Industrial Drilling Products SYSTEM FLOC-360 ® , CETCO ® AccoFloc ® , and M-I SWACO SAFE-FLOC III , but for the purpose of this article, we are referring to CLEARTREAT ® . As mentioned in the February 2019 article, the purpose of flocculation - in water well applications - is simply to facilitate clarity within the water column. Coagulation / Flocculation brings the ultrafine particles together, increasing the density, so they will settle to the bottom, allowing for the camera lighting to provide a clear unobstructed view of the casing or screen. Flocking is not new and has been available for a long time. Some of the most common flocculants for drilling applications (iron, aluminum, magnesium, and calcium) are common agents, broadly speaking. I’m not sure which are used most often in drilling. The most common flocculants in drilling applications have generally been polymers. Flocculants come in a wide range of molecular weights and charges. Anionic, nonionic, and cationic polymers are used as both flocculants and coag- ulants. There are only a few places where alum (aluminum sulphate) is still used, but very little. Next, it is extremely important to know the process once clarifying / flock- ing agents are added. It is critical to understand you cannot simply dump some of the flocking agent into the well and wait. It is necessary to agitate the water column with low surging of air to blend the flocculent or circulating the water column with the aid of a submersible pump set into the water column, and then pumping the water back in from the top of the casing. This agitation allows the flocs to form and settle. (The size of floc, total dissolved solids (TDS), and depth to settle will determine time need- ed.) Now let’s examine how flocking agents work. The clay-based flocculants do not remove the suspended solids, they coagulate the f ine suspended solids to form a floc which is larger and heavier, causing it to fall to the bottom of the well. The removal of the suspended solids comes from well development after the camera survey. Ray Ray Roerick may be contacted via e-mail to michele@ worldwidedrillingresource.com April 24-26, 2019 Spearfish, SD Spearfish Holiday Inn and Convention Center Phone: (800) 999-3541 • (605) 642-4683 For room booking use group code: BIW www.holiday-inn.com/spearfishsd James McNulty: (605) 786-4959 • bitwconference@gmail.com Doug Hoy: (605) 940-1055 • dough@sayreassociates.com For more information, or to register online, go to: bitwconference.org Tuesday: Registration and early exhibit set-up (after 10 am or before noon on Wednesday). Wednesday: Regulatory Session, Crazy Horse Mountain Tour, Paul Muehl ScholarshipClay Shoot, BobMartinScholarship Golf Scramble, Primer Hour, Whole Hog Roast. Thursday: Technical Sessions, Booster Hour, Banquet, Scholarship Auction Friday: Technical Sessions. Booths close after 10 am Coffee Break. Conference ends after lunch. Everyday: Exhibitor Boothswith the latest inBlasting Technology and Products, Lunch, Door Prizes, and much more! Blaster recertification credit hours available for Wyoming and many other states! See you there! ENV 51 WorldWide Drilling Resource ® MARCH 2019 There is more to life than increasing its speed. ~Gandhi