Shaker Screen
Solid control is a method to separate solids that are mixed while drilling. The solid control technique is a five stage technique. The solid control equipment that are used are Shale Shaker, Vacuum degasser, desilter, desander and centrifuge.
A shale Shaker is used in the first step because it separates the biggest solids that are present in the mixture. Here when the mud mixture is passed through the Shaker Screen (A mesh that separates the solids), filtered mud is obtained on the other side, in a mud tank. The size of separation of the mixture depends on the size of mesh used in the Shaker Screen.
A shale shaker comprises of the following parts;
– A feeder that is a type of pan into which the mixture is first fed.
– Screen that separates the mixture.
– A vibrator that is a device that gives vibratory force to the screen.
The two types of Shale Shakers are;
1) Shale shaker that works on the concept of Linear Motion: It is mainly used in oil and gas drilling. Its advantage is that it is fast and can handle heavy load.
2) Shale shaker that works on the concept of Balanced Elliptical motion: It has higher retention time than Linear Motion.
Functions of Shale Shaker:
– Its main function is to remove maximum solids from the mixture. This will not only improve the efficiency of the drilling machine, but will also reduce the load on the subsequent equipment.
– It minimizes the wastage that may be caused sometimes while separating the fluids from solids. This will save our precious natural resources.
– It’s another function is to separate the mixture in such a way that the fluid that is recovered can be reused efficiently and its quality is maintained.
Some examples of Shale shakers are;
– MONGOOSE PRO shale shaker that is equipped with dual motion technology and MD-2, Dual and triple Deck shale shaker that boasts of new innovative screen technology.