Preliminary Screening of Palm-Frond-Derived Sodium Carboxymethyl Cellulose as a Rheology and Filtration Modifier for Water-Based Drilling Fluids

Objective: This preliminary screening study evaluated sodium carboxymethyl cellulose synthesized from palm-frond cellulose as a locally sourced modifier for bentonite-based water-based drilling fluids. Methodology: Palm-frond cellulose was isolated by repeated alkaline cooking and four hypochlorite-bleaching cycles, carboxymethylated with monochloroacetic acid, purified, and screened against commercial CMC. Single, unreplicated measurements of rotational rheology and 30-min filtration were obtained; therefore, no uncertainty estimates, error bars, confidence intervals, p-values, or claims of statistical equivalence are reported. Bentonite fluids contained 22.5 g of clay in 350 mL of water and were tested immediately after mixing rather than after a 16-h hydration period. Short temperature conditioning from 25？C to 90？C was also used and was not equivalent to 16-h hot rolling. Results: The synthesized material showed low-viscosity-grade behavior at the test conditions and required a higher mass dosage than the commercial material. At 25？C, increasing the palm-frond material from 0 to 25% of bentonite mass raised the 600-rpm reading from 25 to 38 and reduced filtrate from 19 to 10 mL/30min. At 50？C, isolated filtrate readings were 5.8 and 6.0 mL for the palm-frond and commercial systems, respectively; this 0.2-mL difference is not interpreted because repeatability was not quantified. In a KCl-polymer screen, 4 g palm-frond material increased the yield point from 2 to 6 lb/100ft² and reduced filtrate from 17.2 to 15.6 mL, but did not match the PAC-LV reference. Conclusion: The results establish feasibility only. Replicated testing, controlled aging, complete compositional characterization, and hot-rolling validation are required before comparative or field-performance claims can be made.