Solid control equipment manufactuer

This is the method of mechanically removing solids using shale shakers or hydrocyclone devices such as; desanders and desilters.  Each piece of equipment is general limited to the following range of particle removal:

1. Standard shale shaker - 440 microns or larger (also referred to as the scalping shaker)

2. Fine screen shaker - 74 microns or larger

3. Desanders - 100 microns & larger

4. Desilters - 15 microns & larger

Correctly implemented each piece of mechanical equipment is effective within a certain particle size range. Utilizing all or a combination of the above equipment throughout your boring program will produce maximum benefits and result in a cost effective means of controlling your solids within an affordable budget.

Mechanical Separation Basics

Mechanical separation equipment employs mass differences, size differences or a combination of both to selectively reject undesirable solids and retain desirable drilling fluid.  The desanders and desilters utilize centrifuge force and mass difference between the solids density and liquid density for solids removal. The shale shakers employ a vibrating screen of various micron-sized differences.

A standard rig shaker or fine screen shaker is vital to the solids control and should process 100% of the mud returning from the starting pit before allowing this mud to be processed by any of the down stream equipment you may utilize in your solids control system.

Located directly down stream from the shale shaker will be one of the hydrocyclone devices:

1. Desander
2. Desilter

These should be sized to process at least 125% of the rig circulation rate while discarding undesirable cuttings & solids down to the 50 micron size range. The desander removes the majority of the solids down to the 100micron size range and prevents the desilter from being over loaded. The desilter removes the majority of the solids down to the 15micron range.