A mud cleaner is a device commonly used in the oil and gas drilling industry. Its purpose is to remove unwanted solids and contaminants from the drilling fluid.

You may not be able to imagine what it is made of, so let me tell you! The mud cleaners are a combination of a desander and a desilter, mounted on a shale shaker with a fine mesh screen. Are you already imagining how this amazing device works? If so, keep reading!

How the mud cleaner works

The mud cleaners workflow includes the following steps: inflow, hydrocyclone separation, screening, and removal of cleaning fluid.

First, drilling fluid containing solids and impurities flows from the borehole into a mud cleaner. Next, the fluid passes through a series of cyclones that use centrifugal force to separate the solids from the fluid. In this scenario, the drilling fluid exits from the top of the cyclone, while the separated solids are collected at the bottom. To further separate finer particles, the shaker screen passes the effluent and the solids that have not yet been cleaned. Finally, the purified drilling fluid is discharged from the mud cleaner and returned to the mud recirculation system for reuse, while the separated solids are typically collected for the next step in the process.

What? You're asking what's so great about it? Then read on!

Features of Hunter Mud Cleaner

One of the primary benefits of a mud cleaner is its flexible processing capacity options. This enables them to adjust to different drilling environments and varying drilling fluid volumes, ensuring efficient cleaning and solids removal. The high-quality polyurethane hydrocyclones utilized in mud cleaners deliver superior performance and consistently separate solid particles from drilling fluids.

In addition, the mud cleaners are designed with a large screen area, which further enhances its ability to remove solids. This, combined with the use of high-quality materials and heat treatment throughout the vibrating screen, leads to a longer service life and reduced spare parts requirements, making it a cost-effective and reliable option for oil and gas drilling operations.

Oilfield mud cleaners utilize hydrocyclone separator fit on shale shaker, which including desander cone, desilter cone, and the multiple function shakers.

Oil drilling mud cleaners functions

Mud cleaners put desander, desilter separator and bottom shaker together as 2nd and 3rd phase solids control equipment. Drilling mud is fed to the inlet of the hydrocyclone (desander and/or desilter) to separate particles and the underflow passes to the fine screen mesh where in particles larger than barite are discarded and thrown away. In most drilling operations, a mud cleaner is installed in its mud systems ahead of decanter centrifuge.

The oilfield mud cleaner function is to remove drilled solids larger than barite. Solids 74-105 microns can be removed by the mud cleaner before the viscosity builds up. Mud cleaner can effectively control weighted drilling fluid solid content. Prevent differential pressure sticking, adhesion stuck drill accident, reduce the drill string and the filter cake thickness on bond issues

Mud cleaner operation

Oilfield mud cleaners

We know mud cleaners consisting many cyclones, to get solids removed by mud cleaner we must provide the power or transition device. Centrifugal pump is the device to pump drilling fluid between tank and cyclones. In oilfield solids control, drilling mud after separated by shaker will pass through shaker deck into shaker compartment.

Desander pump will transfer drilling fluid to hydrocyclone inlet for further separation. Under centrifugal force caused by pump pressure and high velocity, the heavier and larger particles will be separated out and sprayed off via drop in apex. The drilling mud discharged from hydrocyclone output will flow into desander compartment for further desilter separation. Desilter working principle is same with desander.

Considering both pipelines configuration and better performance in whole oilfield solids control system. It is strongly recommended we use 2 separated pumps for desander and desilter cones.

Get oilfield mud cleaners price

Different mud cleaners holding different capacity. The capacity decided by cones quantity and bottom shaker configuration. Upon your specific demand we can quote you best price on oilfield mud cleaners. Aipu provide you optimal solutions continuously. Just let us know if any interest you question.