Production of an Effective Low Cost Drilling Fluid Additive from Waste Sugar Beet Pulp

This project will investigate a cost-effective method of producing a new oil and gas drilling fluid additive from spent sugar beet pulp, a by-product and waste material from the sugar beet processing industry. The product has the potential of replacing other drilling fluid additives, (a) asbestos, which is an effective additive but which is no longer used because of environmental concerns, (b) CMC polymers, and (c) other viscosifiers. The process to be demonstrated will take the waste sugar beet pulp, slurry it in water, and convert it into a low-cost high-fiber product using fermentation. After fermentation it will be sterilized, dried, ground and tested in two types of drilling fluid systems for performance vis-a-vis other currently competitive products.