Action of carbonates on the rheology of bentonites in drilling fluids

Even today, colloid science presents questions that are poorly understood in the literature and which are increasingly challenging researchers in the field to find explanations for. This work aims to verify the influence of alkaline carbonates of lithium, sodium and potassium on the rheology of bentonite clays from the state of Paraíba, Brazil, with a view to their use in water-based and organic-based drilling fluids. In addition, new occurrences of Brazilian bentonite clays were studied in an attempt to avoid importing this mineral input, bringing technological development to the country.