Month: November 2025

In the mining sector, managing tailings—the fine-particle sludge from ore processing—has always been a challenge. Traditional storage in large ponds creates environmental concerns and wastes water. Modern dewatering solutions, however, turn this challenge into an opportunity. KOSUN provides advanced tailings treatment systems that help mines meet strict standards, achieving a true win-win in safety, sustainability, and cost-efficiency.

The Need for Advanced Treatment
Traditional wet tailings storage comes with significant risks that modern operations can no longer ignore. These include the potential for environmental contamination from leaching, the safety hazards associated with tailings dam failures, and the massive waste of water resources. Today, an efficient tailings treatment system is essential infrastructure for any responsible and profitable mine.

The KOSUN Solution: Dry Stacking and Water Recovery
KOSUN addresses these challenges with a comprehensive solution centered around the high-efficiency decanter centrifuge. This system drastically reduces waste volume and enables high rates of process water recovery. The core process is streamlined and effective:

Tailings slurry is first screened to remove large debris. It is then fed into the decanter centrifuge for core solid-liquid separation. The output is a solid, cake-like material ideal for dry stacking, and clear water that can be directly recycled back into the processing plant, significantly reducing freshwater demand.

Key Benefits for Your Operation
Choosing KOSUN’s tailings treatment system delivers clear, tangible benefits:

• Enhanced Safety & Compliance: Minimize your environmental footprint and eliminate seepage risks, which is crucial for ecologically sensitive or seismically active areas.
• Significant Cost Savings: Recycle process water to cut down on utility costs and freshwater procurement.
• Operational Reliability: Our robust decanter centrifuges ensure continuous, 24/7 operation with high reliability and minimal maintenance.
• Maximized Space Efficiency: The compact design requires a small footprint and can be configured as a fixed or semi-mobile plant.

Ready to future-proof your mining operation? Contact KOSUN today for a free, customized tailings management proposal and discover how our technology can secure your operational efficiency and environmental goals.

Strict environmental rules are changing the drilling industry. “Zero discharge” technology is now standard practice, and Water-Based Mud (WBM) zero discharge systems are a top choice for conventional drilling, offering clear environmental and economic benefits. This article explains the advantages of WBM systems for more economical, efficient, and sustainable drilling.

What is a WBM Zero Discharge System?

It’s an on-site environmental management system for drilling waste (mud and cuttings). The goal is total waste elimination, minimizing environmental impact.

The system separates solids and liquids from waste streams, recycles the reusable liquid (water/mud), and treats the solids for safe disposal or reuse. This creates a closed loop. Unlike complex Oil-Based Mud (OBM) systems, WBM systems are simpler and more cost-effective.

How It Works: Separation and Recycling

The process relies on efficient solid-liquid separation:

Initial Separation: Drilling fluid goes through shale shakers to remove large solids. Waste then moves to the system via screw conveyors.

Dewatering: A dewatering shaker uses vibration to remove free liquid from the cuttings.

Chemical Treatment: Chemicals (polymers/flocculants) are added in a mixing tank to clump fine solids together, boosting separation efficiency.

Deep Dewatering: A filter press uses high pressure to squeeze out remaining liquid, creating a low-moisture “mud cake”.

Recycling: Recovered water and treated mud are stored in a recovery tank for reuse, saving resources. The dry mud cakes can be used for road base or wellsite paving.

Economic and Environmental Wins

WBM systems save money while protecting the environment:

Consideration: Investment. Benefit: Lower initial cost compared to OBM systems.

Consideration: Operating Costs. Benefit: Recycles water/mud, reducing need for new materials and lowering labor costs via automation.

Consideration: Compliance. Benefit: Meets strict environmental laws, avoiding heavy fines.

Consideration: Disposal. Benefit: Dry, reduced-volume mud cakes mean lower transport and landfill costs.

Consideration: Resource Recovery. Benefit: Mud cakes can be repurposed as construction material.

System Components & Supplier Choice

Key equipment includes shakers, dewatering shakers, filter presses, mixing tanks, and pumps. High-quality equipment ensures stability.

Choose an experienced supplier for expert installation, commissioning, and reliable technical support.

Ideal Drilling Scenarios

The WBM system is best for:

Conventional/Shallow Wells: Where standard WBM is sufficient.

Environmentally Sensitive Areas: To ensure full compliance with regulations.

Water-Scarce Regions: Where water conservation is vital.

Resource Recovery: When mud cakes can be reused locally.

WBM zero discharge systems meet environmental demands while improving efficiency and cost control. Evaluating the system’s performance, cost-effectiveness, and supplier reliability ensures a successful decision for your project needs.

As the global push for clean energy accelerates, geothermal well drilling projects are becoming critical engineering initiatives in many regions. However, the drilling mud generated during geothermal well construction is inherently complex in composition and high in solids content. If not managed promptly or properly, this poses several challenges: reduced drilling efficiency, accelerated equipment wear, compromised wellbore stability, and increased environmental pressure. Therefore, investing in a stable and reliable geothermal well mud treatment system is a critical step for geothermal contractors aiming to enhance project quality and reduce overall operational costs.

Xi’an KOSUN, leveraging over thirty years of technical expertise in solids control and drilling mud treatment, provides proven, mature total solutions for geothermal well projects. We understand the specific demands of geothermal operations, such as high temperature, high mineralization, and large flow rates. Our systems are specifically optimized in terms of equipment structure, material selection, and system configuration to ensure efficient mud purification even under these complex well conditions.

Our core equipment, including shale shakers, desanders and desilters, decanter centrifuges, mud tanks, and mud agitators, has been verified through extensive field use. This equipment effectively separates drill cuttings and fine solids, ensuring the drilling mud properties remain within safe operational parameters for smoother drilling. The treated mud can be efficiently recycled and reused, significantly reducing mud replacement costs and minimizing waste discharge volume, helping construction units easily meet strict environmental compliance requirements.

KOSUN’s complete mud treatment systems have demonstrated exceptional adaptability across numerous geothermal development projects. They maintain stable performance whether operating in deep, high-temperature formations or in mountainous and high-altitude regions with complex surface conditions.

Our solutions are fully customizable. We combine different equipment configurations based on project-specific requirements, including well depth, flow rate, site conditions, and operational demands, to meet the needs of various scales of geothermal well construction. Clients consistently report that adopting KOSUN’s treatment solutions leads to more controllable onsite mud circulation, reduced equipment failure rates, and effectively shortened overall construction periods.

As a leading manufacturer of solids control and environmental protection equipment in China, Xi’an KOSUN remains committed to R&D and stringent quality management. We provide reliable equipment performance and comprehensive service systems to offer long-term support for geothermal energy development. 

In the future of clean energy construction, KOSUN will continue to advance the optimization and upgrading of geothermal drilling mud treatment technology, making geothermal exploration and drilling more efficient, safe, and environmentally friendly. 

If you are looking for a mud treatment solution suitable for your next geothermal project, KOSUN can provide professional consultation, customized design, and full-process technical services to help your project achieve compliance and success.

A drilling fluid desander operates on the principle of centrifugal sedimentation, with the hydrocyclone as its core component.

Key Functions of the Desander in Drilling

• Enhances Solids Control Performance: As a critical part of the third-stage solids control system, the desander removes fine sand particles (47–74 microns) that bypass the shale shaker. This reduces the load on downstream equipment like desilters and centrifuges, improving overall system stability.
• Maintains Drilling Fluid Properties: By controlling fine solid content, the desander helps maintain optimal rheological properties of the drilling fluid, supporting higher rates of penetration and reducing risks such as stuck pipe.
• Protects Drilling Equipment: Removing abrasive sand particles minimizes wear on mud pumps, drill pipes, drill bits, and other components, extending service life and lowering maintenance costs.
• Improves Operational Economics: Effective desander use increases drilling speed, reduces downtime, and optimizes drilling fluid costs—especially in non-weighted mud systems where it serves as the primary solids control device.

Why Choose KOSUN Desanders

KOSUN combines precision engineering and user-centered design to deliver desanders that excel in performance and reliability:

• Durable Materials: Hydrocyclones are constructed from high-wear materials such as polyurethane (offering elasticity and impact resistance) or high-chromium cast iron (for extreme abrasion resistance), ensuring longevity in demanding conditions.
• Quick-Clamp Connections: Simplified clamp-style connections replace traditional bolts, enabling faster inspection and part replacement while cutting maintenance time and labor.
• Modular & Compact Design: The flexible layout saves rig space and allows customization with one, two, or three 10-inch or 12-inch hydrocyclones to match varying processing needs.
• Easy Installation: Streamlined interface design enables fast and reliable pipeline connections, reducing setup time and improving operational readiness.

Conclusion

The drilling fluid desander plays a vital role in modern drilling by enabling precise control over solid contaminants through efficient centrifugal separation. Its performance relies heavily on the wear resistance of key components and a scientifically designed system capable of stable operation. With expertise in materials and system integration, KOSUN desanders deliver consistent and reliable performance under challenging drilling conditions, helping operators achieve project success and control overall costs.

In oil and gas drilling operations, the vacuum degasser serves as an essential component of the solids control system, specifically engineered to address gas-cut drilling fluid challenges. This specialized drilling fluids processing equipment creates a controlled vacuum environment based on Henry’s Law principles, effectively removing dissolved gases and entrained hydrocarbons to restore mud weight and maintain drilling fluid properties. As a fundamental well control safety device, it ensures operational integrity during drilling programs.

Technical Operation & Degassing Mechanism
The system employs a sophisticated three-phase separation process:

1. Vacuum Generation Phase: Utilizing either vacuum pump technology or educator systems, the equipment establishes precise negative pressure conditions within a sealed degassing chamber
2. Gas-Liquid Separation Phase: Contaminated drilling fluid enters the vacuum chamber and undergoes distribution across specialized dispersion elements – including deflector plates and baffle systems – creating maximum surface exposure for efficient gas liberation
3. Fluid Recovery Phase: Liberated gases are safely routed through vent lines while treated drilling fluid returns to the active mud system, maintaining optimal rheological properties and density specifications

Comprehensive Selection Methodology
When integrating vacuum degassing equipment into your drilling operation, consider these critical parameters:

• Capacity Requirements: Match equipment processing capacity (measured in m³/hr) to maximum anticipated drilling fluid circulation rates with appropriate safety margins
• Pressure Specifications: Verify operational pressure ranges align with drilling program requirements and wellbore conditions
• System Compatibility: Ensure seamless integration with existing solids control equipment including shale shakers, desanders, desilters, and centrifuges
• Performance Reliability: Evaluate equipment durability under demanding drilling conditions and availability of service support

Operational Advantages & Value Proposition
The strategic implementation of vacuum degassing technology delivers measurable benefits:

• Enhanced Safety Protocols: Provides primary well control protection against gas influx situations and kick prevention
• Operational Efficiency: Maintains continuous drilling operations by ensuring consistent drilling fluid performance
• Economic Optimization: Reduces non-productive time associated with gas handling while extending drilling fluid service life
• Environmental Compliance: Enables safe handling and disposal of liberated hydrocarbon gases

Industry Applications & Technical Evolution
From conventional petroleum drilling to specialized applications including:

• Deepwater and ultra-deepwater drilling operations
• Geothermal energy drilling programs
• Coal bed methane and unconventional resource development
• Horizontal and directional drilling applications

The vacuum degasser has evolved from auxiliary equipment to a fundamental well control safety system, representing a critical investment for modern drilling fluid management and operational risk mitigation.

The desilter (alternatively referred to as a hydrocyclone desilter, drilling fluid desilter, or mud desilter) is an engineered piece of equipment vital for fine-tuning drilling fluid properties. Its operational mechanism relies on powerful centrifugal pumps generating pressure to push drilling fluid through an assembly of small-diameter hydrocyclones coupled with fine mesh screens. This configuration enables the precision separation of fine solid particles, specifically targeting a size range of 15 to 47 microns.

The Desilter’s Role in Multi-Stage Solids Control

In the intricate architecture of a typical five-stage solids control system, the desilter occupies a strategic position as the fourth-stage purification unit. Each stage plays a distinct, sequential role in refining the mud system:

• Stage One (Shale Shaker): The initial barrier, primarily responsible for the mechanical separation of large cuttings and particles exceeding 74 microns.
• Stages Two & Three (Degasser & Desander): Following gas removal, the desander tackles intermediate “sand-sized” particles, handling the 47 to 74 micron range.
• Stage Four (Desilter): The fluid, now largely free of coarse sand, is routed to the desilter compartment. A dedicated desilting pump pressurizes the flow into the cyclones, isolating smaller “silt-sized” solids (14–47 microns), thereby completing this critical purification phase.
• Stage Five (Centrifuge): The final refinement stage, utilizing decanter centrifuges to capture the finest solids (≥2 microns) and colloidal particles.

The desilter effectively acts as the bridge between coarse and fine separation technologies, serving as the essential apparatus for managing the fine particle spectrum within the drilling fluid inventory.

Desilter vs. Desander: Clarifying the Functional Divide

While both devices leverage the principles of hydrocyclone technology for centrifugal separation, they are engineered with distinctly different processing objectives, structural parameters, and systemic functions. They are engineered to complement, not substitute, one another.

Distinguishing Particle Separation Thresholds

• Desander Function: Focuses on removing larger, “sand-sized” particles, typically within the 47 to 74 micron range (approximately 200–325 mesh).
• Desilter Function: Specializes in removing finer, “silt- or mud-sized” particles, concentrating on the 14 to 47 micron range (approximately 600–1000 mesh).

Structural and Design Differences

• Desander Design: Incorporates larger-diameter hydrocyclones optimized for handling higher volumetric flow rates and separating bulkier solids.
• Desilter Design: Utilizes smaller-diameter hydrocyclones. This reduced diameter is a design choice that facilitates significantly stronger centrifugal forces, which are necessary for the efficient and effective separation of smaller, finer solids.

Process Sequence Integration

• Desander Position: Strategically situated post-shale shaker and degasser, preceding the desilter in the flow line for initial intermediate particle capture.
• Desilter Position: Placed after the desander but prior to the high-speed centrifuge, providing a finer degree of purification that prepares the fluid for the final separation stage.

In summation, the desander and desilter establish a continuous, cascading purification sequence, seamlessly transitioning the fluid processing from “sand removal” to “silt removal.” This cooperative action ensures the step-by-step, efficient, and comprehensive elimination of detrimental solid phases suspended in the active mud system.

The Desilter’s Value Proposition in Drilling

Implementing effective desilting technology offers substantial operational advantages, directly impacting project economics and performance:

• Reservoir Protection: Minimizing fine particles prevents formation damage by halting pore clogging, thereby safeguarding the hydrocarbon reservoir’s long-term production capacity and permeability.
• Enhanced Drilling Efficiency: Maintaining low solid content is paramount. It substantially improves the overall mechanical specific energy and rate of penetration (ROP), directly shortening the total drilling cycle time.
• Downhole Integrity and Safety: A clean mud system mitigates common drilling hazards such as differential sticking and issues arising from excessively thick filter cake buildup, enhancing overall wellbore stability.
• Cost Optimization: Reduced solids concentration dramatically minimizes abrasive equipment wear (pumps, bits, MWD tools), decreases the reliance on expensive drilling fluid dilution (watering back), and lessens the need for chemical additive treatments.

The drilling fluid desilter and desander are functionally distinct yet entirely complementary pieces of key equipment within the comprehensive solids control system. Through their coordinated “sand removal” followed by “silt/mud removal” process, the solid content of the drilling fluid is managed with precision and progression. This systematic approach provides the essential foundation for efficient, safe, and highly cost-effective drilling operations worldwide.