Solids control system, TBM slurry treatment plant, HDD mud recycling system, Drilling mud system-KOSUN

In the field of energy extraction and storage, cleaning sludge from the bottom of solids control systems and crude oil storage tanks has long been a high-energy and complex undertaking. Traditional cleaning methods not only consume vast amounts of fresh water but also generate large quantities of difficult-to-treat waste. The KQG30 Automatic Tank Cleaning System, developed by KOSUN, provides a rigorous and efficient closed-loop wastewater recycling solution through integrated physical separation processes.

Core Process Driving Multi-Stage Physical Separation

The operational logic of this unit lies in the synchronization of cleaning and purification. With a processing capacity of 30m³/h, the process chain consists of multi-stage linkage including filtration, inclined plate sedimentation, and hydrocyclone separation. At the start of operations, a high-pressure pump drives a mechanical cleaner installed at the top of the tank for spraying, while a self-priming pump extracts the flushed sludge into the treatment system. After initial filtration to intercept large impurities, the fluid enters the inclined plate sedimentation zone. Here, using the principle of increased sedimentation area combined with a dosing device, fine suspended solids flocculate and settle rapidly. Subsequently, a cyclone feed pump forces the fluid into the hydrocyclone unit, where a powerful centrifugal force field achieves complete solid-liquid separation.

Closed-Loop Design for Resource Recovery and Reuse

The ingenuity of this closed-loop design is that treated cleaning water can be returned directly to the clean water tank for reuse, greatly reducing dependence on external water sources. Integrated diaphragm pumps and high-pressure pump sets ensure stable fluid circulation within the system. Recovered waste oil can be reused after treatment, and the recycling of cleaning water reduces water consumption, fundamentally lowering production costs. This design not only significantly shortens the cleaning cycle but also transforms what was once waste into reusable resources.

Automated Configuration Ensuring Operational Safety

Beyond its process advantages, the KQG30 Drilling Mud Tank Cleaning Equipment demonstrates high industrial standards in hardware integration. The system includes an electrical control cabinet with an overall explosion-proof rating of Exd II BT4, making it fully capable of operating in high-risk environments such as crude oil storage tanks. The automated equipment can replace personnel in hazardous environments like confined spaces, significantly reducing operational risks. This easy-to-operate system supports rapid extraction and cleaning, and when paired with skid-mounted water tanks and dosing units, achieves efficient and compliant modern tank cleaning that aligns with the core concepts of green production and sustainable development in the global energy industry.

In the global energy map, arctic regions like Siberia hold vast reserves, yet temperatures plummeting to -40°C impose harsh demands on drilling equipment. Conventional solids control systems often suffer from frozen pipelines and brittle fractures in such cold. KOSUN’s Arctic Solids Control System is specifically engineered to break these environmental barriers.

Core Technology: Resilience and Flexibility
The system’s design centers on “extreme cold survivability.” All components use specialized low-temperature resistant materials to ensure stability at -40°C. Its skid-mounted, modular design allows for easy mobilization across ice fields and rapid assembly; once interface pipelines and power are connected, it is ready for action. Notably, the 1000GPM Orbit system supports simultaneous drilling for multiple wells, moving smoothly via hydraulic cylinders to maximize group-drilling efficiency.

Case Study: Russia-ZJ30 Rig Solids Control System
KOSUN’s expertise is perfectly demonstrated in the Russia-ZJ30 project. This system is a comprehensive processing hub integrating mechanical separation and electrical control. To counter the Russian frost, it features fully enclosed insulation sheds and steam heating pipelines. This setup not only improves working conditions but also ensures mud fluidity through a five-stage purification process (shale shaker, desander, desilter, vacuum degasser, and centrifuge).

Efficiency and Resource Recovery
From mixing and weighting to degassing and supplying, the ZJ30 system manages the entire lifecycle of drilling fluids. By precisely controlling mud properties, it significantly reduces the consumption of expensive chemicals, providing a robust technical guarantee for polar drilling operations.

With the continuous growth of global energy demand and the evolution of drilling technologies, the exploration and development of deep, ultra-deep, high-pressure high-temperature (HPHT), and natural gas hydrate wells have become core areas of the drilling industry. During ultra-deep well drilling, the geothermal gradient (typically 3°C/100m) causes bottom-hole temperatures to rise sharply with depth. In wells ranging from 6,000 to 7,000 meters, temperatures can reach 180°C to 210°C or even higher. Such extreme heat degrades the physicochemical properties of circulating drilling fluids, shortens the service life of drill bits, drill pipes, and downhole power tools, and poses severe risks to operational safety. Therefore, deploying high-efficiency mud cooling systems to maintain optimal drilling fluid temperatures has become essential for deep-well operations.

Core Technical Solutions and Process Mechanism

The Mud Cooling System (Drilling Fluid Cooling System) is an ideal solution developed by KOSUN for high-temperature drilling environments. Utilizing independently developed cooling processes, the system integrates air-cooling, water-cooling, and hybrid air-water cooling modes. The KOSUN Mud Cooling System can achieve a temperature differential adjustment of 20°C to 40°C. By promptly dissipating geothermal heat absorbed by the drilling fluid, it effectively extends the service life of expensive downhole tools, significantly improves overall rig efficiency, and substantially reduces operational risks such as overflows or blowouts induced by overheating.

Technical Advantage Analysis

The KOSUN Mud Cooling System features an advanced finned heat exchange tube design, enhancing heat exchange efficiency by 10% compared to traditional structures and allowing for flexible multi-stage cooling based on site conditions to ensure superior cooling speed and efficiency. The system integrates intelligent temperature control management, supporting seamless mode switching where the evaporation mode is automatically activated if the dry-running mode fails to meet the cooling setpoint. Regarding environmental sustainability, the system utilizes a closed-loop cooling cycle that significantly reduces water evaporation loss and “white smoke” generation, making it ideal for water-scarce regions or environments with stringent ecological requirements. Furthermore, the structural design is highly optimized; for instance, the KSNQ-150 model maintains a processing capacity of 150m³/h within a compact 15㎡ footprint. Combined with a specialized piping layout that prevents freezing and scaling, this significantly lowers installation and long-term maintenance costs.

Application Areas and Industry Value

Currently, KOSUN Mud Cooling Systems are widely used for closed-loop media cooling in industries such as petrochemicals, new energy, power generation, and biopharmaceuticals. Its performance is particularly outstanding in oilfield deep-well drilling, natural gas hydrate development, permafrost operations, and geothermal resource extraction. KOSUN is committed to providing global drilling contractors with safe and efficient temperature control through customized and energy-saving technical paths, supporting the sustainable development of deep-layer oil and gas resources.

Against the background of the green transformation of the mining industry and increasingly stringent environmental policies, tailings management has evolved from traditional terminal disposal to a key part of solid waste resource utilization. Focusing on the demand for efficient and clean production in mines, KOSUN has innovatively launched a tailings flotation dry discharge process. With advanced equipment and optimized processes, it helps mining enterprises achieve the coordinated improvement of economic, environmental, and safety benefits.

Workflow of Tailings Management

The tailings flotation dry discharge process adopts an integrated design of flotation and centrifugal dewatering dry discharge. The whole system takes graded cyclone units, high-frequency screens for coarse tailings dry discharge, high-efficiency deep-cone thickeners, high-pressure filter presses, and high-speed variable-frequency decanter centrifuges as core equipment. After being temporarily stored in a buffer tank, tailings are pumped by a slurry pump to a high-speed variable-frequency decanter centrifuge for efficient solid-liquid separation. The liquid phase is fully recycled to grinding and classifying operations, while the solid phase is transported by a belt conveyor to designated areas for dry layered stacking, forming a closed-loop production process to realize tailings reduction and resource utilization at the source.

Characteristics and Advantages of Tailings Management

This process uses small overflow dams in sedimentation tanks and sewage treatment tanks to replace traditional tailings dams, overflow wells, and overflow pipelines, greatly reducing capital construction and operation costs. The system completes secondary sewage treatment in sedimentation tanks and sewage treatment tanks, realizing 70%–80% reuse of tailings water, significantly saving production water, and is suitable for operations in arid and water-scarce areas. The process greatly reduces the land occupation of tailings. Adopting a dry stacking mode combined with centrifugation and pressure filtration, the discharged tailings have low moisture content, truly meeting the technological requirement of zero discharge of tailings. While improving resource utilization, it effectively reduces environmental and safety risks.

KOSUN’s tailings flotation dry discharge technology is mainly applied to tailings dewatering in various concentrators to achieve dry stacking of tailings, to recover available resources and reduce environmental pollution. Relying on stable and reliable equipment configuration and a simple and efficient process flow, enterprises reduce environmental protection input while realizing efficient recovery of water and mineral resources. It promotes the transformation of mine solid waste from harmless disposal to high-value utilization, providing solid technical support for the sustainable development of mines.

In modern drilling operations, reducing Non-Productive Time (NPT) is the top priority for cost-conscious operators. While solids control is essential, eliminating micro-bubbles from drilling fluids is equally critical. A high-performance Drilling Mud Degasser is not just an auxiliary unit—it is a vital investment. By utilizing a Vacuum Degasser, operators can protect expensive assets, stabilize fluid density, and significantly lower long-term maintenance costs.

Preventing Cavitation with Vacuum Degasser Technology

When gas-cut mud enters centrifugal pumps or high-speed centrifuges, cavitation begins. As gas bubbles collapse under intense pressure, they create micro-shockwaves that strike impellers and bearings. A Vacuum Degasser removes these entrained gases before they reach downstream equipment, preventing the pitting and spalling of metal surfaces and avoiding the premature failure of core components.

Enhancing Pump Efficiency via Drilling Mud Degasser

Gas-entrained fluid doesn’t just damage hardware; it steals performance. When mud pumps handle aerated mud, volumetric efficiency drops as power is wasted on gas compression. The Drilling Mud Degasser ensures the mud is dense and incompressible, which stabilizes discharge pressure and reduces vibrations. This minimizes mechanical stress on high-pressure manifolds, extending the life of pistons, valves, and seats.

Optimizing Solids Control with a Vacuum Degasser

Solids control systems operate as an integrated whole. Gas bubbles disrupt mud rheology, making fluid thicker and harder to process. A Vacuum Degasser positioned upstream ensures that downstream centrifuges perform precise solid-liquid separation without the interference of gas-induced buoyancy. Furthermore, a Drilling Mud Degasser prevents the destabilization of centrifugal fields inside desanders and desilters, ensuring fine particles are removed efficiently.

Economic Impact of the Drilling Mud Degasser

For drilling contractors, the Vacuum Degasser drives measurable savings across the entire job site. It results in fewer replacements of expensive pump fluid-end modules and reduces unplanned downtime caused by gas-related equipment fatigue. By maintaining the integrity of the drilling fluid, the Drilling Mud Degasser lowers overall OPEX and reduces the need for extensive spare parts inventory on-site.

Conclusion on Vacuum Degasser PerformanceA Vacuum Degasser does more than simply remove gas; it acts as a shield for your entire fleet of pumps and centrifuges. For operators focused on Equipment Life Cycle Management, the Drilling Mud Degasser is an essential component of a high-performing solids control package. Investing in a Vacuum Degasser today ensures smoother operations and a higher ROI for every well drilled

KOSUN Mud Cooling System: Ensuring Safety in High-Temperature Drilling

As global energy demand rises, oil and gas drilling operations are increasingly targeting complex environments such as deep wells, ultra-deep wells, and high-temperature high-pressure (HTHP) formations. In these extreme conditions, drilling fluid temperature control becomes a critical factor in maintaining both operational safety and efficiency.

The KOSUN Drilling Fluid Cooling System is engineered to meet this challenge, delivering reliable performance in the most demanding drilling environments—onshore or offshore.

Why Temperature Control Matters in HTHP Drilling

Drilling fluid plays a vital role in cooling the drill bit, transporting rock cuttings, and stabilizing the wellbore. However, when mud temperature exceeds optimal levels, it can lead to reduced viscosity and lubrication, thermal fatigue and damage to downhole tools, and accelerated degradation of chemical additives. Effective temperature management is essential for safe and efficient drilling.

Key Features of the KOSUN Mud Cooling System

With over 30 years of experience in solids control, KOSUN offers a modular and intelligent cooling solution tailored to site-specific needs.

Intelligent Temperature Control: The system automatically activates evaporative cooling when dry mode is insufficient. This extends the lifespan of drill bits and drill pipes while enhancing overall rig productivity.

High Energy Efficiency: The system cools drilling fluid by 20–40°C. Finned heat-exchange tubes improve thermal efficiency by 10%, reducing energy consumption and operating costs.

Rugged Adaptability: Suitable for land rigs, offshore platforms, and HTHP wells, the system is built with corrosion-resistant and high-temperature materials. It performs reliably in gas hydrate and geothermal operations.

Compact and Modular Design: The system delivers high processing capacity in a small footprint. Anti-freeze piping layout resists scaling, and the design is easy to install and maintain in confined rig spaces.

Applications of the KOSUN Mud Cooling System

The KOSUN mud cooling system is widely used in high-temperature formations such as geothermal wells and high-temperature oil and gas fields, deep and ultra-deep drilling projects, and high-density mud operations that retain more heat.

Proven Value for Drilling Operators

KOSUN mud cooling systems have been deployed in numerous deep well projects worldwide, delivering measurable results. Enhanced safety through fewer high-temperature-related failures, extended equipment life with consistent thermal protection, faster drilling by reducing non-productive time, and lower costs through smart controls and energy-saving design.

Why Choose KOSUN

As drilling technologies advance into more complex formations, the KOSUN mud cooling system stands out for its cooling efficiency, intelligent automation, and compact, low-maintenance design. Every drilling project is unique, which is why KOSUN offers customized support from site evaluation and system design to installation and commissioning. Choosing KOSUN means gaining a reliable partner for your most demanding drilling conditions.

Get a Customized Mud Cooling Solution

If you’re looking for a high-performance mud cooling system for HTHP drilling, contact the KOSUN team today. We’ll design a solution tailored to your specific needs and provide end-to-end technical support.

Contact KOSUN for more information or a free consultation.

In the competitive landscape of modern oil and gas exploration, the efficiency of drilling operations is inextricably linked to the performance of the rig solids control system. As a critical component of the drilling fluid circulation process, this system ensures operational safety, cost-effectiveness, and environmental compliance.

What is a Rig Solids Control System?

A rig solids control system (also referred to as a drilling mud purification system) is an integrated suite of solids control equipment designed to treat circulating drilling fluids. Its primary function is to remove harmful drilled solids (cuttings) from the mud while preserving vital liquid phases and chemical additives. By maintaining a clean closed-loop circulation, it ensures the stability of the mud’s rheological properties.

Key Stages of Solids Control Equipment

A high-performance rig solids control system utilizes a multi-stage separation process. Each piece of solids control equipment is engineered to target specific particle sizes:

1. Shale Shakers: The primary line of defense. The shale shaker uses high-frequency vibration to scalpe large cuttings from the mud.
2. Hydrocyclone Desanders: The second stage of treatment, focusing on removing sand particles (40–100 microns) through centrifugal sedimentation.
3. Hydrocyclone Desilters: These units target finer silt (12–74 microns) to further refine the drilling fluid.
4. Decanter Centrifuges: The most advanced solids control equipment for fine separation, effectively removing micron-sized particles (2–15 microns) that hydrocyclones cannot catch.

Supporting components such as mud agitators, centrifugal pumps, and vacuum degassers complete the rig solids control system workflow, ensuring a degassed and homogenized mud mixture.

Strategic Values of Modern Solids Control

Investing in a robust rig solids control system provides three-fold benefits for drilling contractors:

• Maximizing Drilling Efficiency: Effective solids control equipment reduces the abrasiveness of the drilling mud. This minimizes tool wear, boosts the Rate of Penetration (ROP), and extends the lifespan of downhole motors and mud pumps.
• Operational Safety and Wellbore Stability: By precisely controlling the solid phase, the rig solids control system helps maintain the exact mud weight required to balance formation pressure, preventing incidents like pipe sticking or blowouts.
• Environmental Sustainability and Waste Management: Modern solids control equipment is essential for “Zero Discharge” initiatives. By maximizing fluid recovery, it reduces the volume of drilling waste and lowers the environmental footprint of the rig site.

The rig solids control system is the heartbeat of fluid management in the oilfield. As the industry moves toward deeper and more complex wells, the demand for high-efficiency solids control equipment continues to grow. Today’s systems are evolving into intelligent, automated units that provide the technical foundation for sustainable and profitable global energy production.

In remote overseas drilling sites, the reliability and efficiency of solids control equipment directly impact Non-Productive Time (NPT). Designed for high-intensity operations, the KOSUN SP series drilling mud shear pump achieves an optimal balance between high-efficiency shearing and long-term durability through deep hydrodynamic optimization. It has become the preferred solution for major oil and gas projects worldwide.

Hydrodynamic Design: Axial Turbine and Pressure Chambers

Unlike the simple construction of traditional centrifugal pumps, the SP series drilling mud shear pump integrates a complex structure consisting of an axial turbine, a fluid reservoir, and a specialized pressure chamber. As fluid enters the pump, it gains axial acceleration through the turbine zone before accumulating kinetic energy within the pressure chamber. When the fluid is ejected against the shearing plate via high-pressure nozzles, the resulting intense turbulence and mechanical impact instantly crush insoluble polymer agglomerates. This ensures high homogeneity of the fluid in a single circulation.

Enhanced Wear Resistance via Stainless Steel Precision Casting

Solid particles in drilling fluids are highly erosive to flow-passing components. To address this challenge, the critical impeller components of the KOSUN drilling mud shear pump are manufactured using stainless steel precision casting. Compared to the common cast iron materials used in the industry, stainless steel impellers offer superior wear and corrosion resistance. This is particularly vital when handling highly corrosive or high-sand-content mud, significantly extending maintenance cycles and reducing the frequency of spare parts replacement.

Low NPSH for Stability in Complex Conditions

During field operations, fluctuations in mud tank levels or rising mud temperatures can easily cause cavitation in pumping equipment. The engineering design of the KOSUN drilling mud shear pump ensures stable operation even under low-pressure suction environments. By minimizing cavitation, the system avoids vibration damage to mechanical seals and bearings, thereby increasing the overall operational redundancy of the solids control system.

High ROI Proven by Global Projects

The KOSUN SP series drilling mud shear pump has been deployed on drilling rigs across extreme environments, including the Middle East and Russia. Field data indicates that with a 75kW power configuration, the pump delivers a processing capacity of up to 150 m³/h. Its high shearing conversion rate not only optimizes mud performance but also helps contractors recover equipment investment costs quickly by reducing chemical additive consumption, achieving leadership in both performance and economic efficiency.

Maintenance Convenience Aligned with International Standards

Strictly designed in accordance with API industry standards, the KOSUN drilling mud shear pump features a compact structure that is easy to maintain on-site. Its universal seal design considers the global availability of spare parts, minimizing equipment downtime caused by repairs. For overseas projects seeking long-term stable operations, these field-optimized engineering details represent the core competitive advantage.

KOSUN horizontal centrifugal slurry pumps are renowned for their versatility and robust performance. They play a multifunctional and highly adaptable role within drilling fluid circulation systems, effectively handling transport tasks across various operational stages. These pumps are not limited to a single purpose but flexibly adapt to critical working conditions, providing stable and reliable fluid power support for drilling platforms.

Core Advantages of KOSUN Slurry Pumps Ensuring High Efficiency

KOSUN utilizes high wear resistant hard alloy mechanical seals to ensure long term stable operation even when transporting highly abrasive mud, significantly reducing maintenance costs. The closed impeller combined with a unique back vane design effectively increases the pump head and minimizes internal leakage, guaranteeing a powerful and steady output.

Diverse Application Scenarios of KOSUN Slurry Pumps

Feeding Source for Desander and Desilter Equipment
This represents the primary application of the CP series slurry pumps. Within the solids control process, these pumps are responsible for providing a continuous, stable, and high pressure mud flow to primary desanders and secondary desilters. Steady feeding pressure is crucial for the efficient separation of solid particles within hydrocyclones, directly impacting mud properties and overall drilling efficiency.

Priming and Charging Pump for High Pressure Mud Pumps
Main drilling mud pumps are expensive reciprocating units that require stringent inlet conditions to avoid cavitation. KOSUN slurry pumps are frequently employed as pre-set charging pumps to increase the positive pressure at the main pump inlet. This effectively prevents cavitation, extends the lifespan of vulnerable components, and ensures the continuity of drilling operations.

Circulation Power for Jet Mud Mixing Units
Rapid and uniform mixing of bentonite, barite powder, and other chemical additives is essential when preparing new mud batches or adjusting fluid properties. KOSUN slurry pumps work in tandem with jet mixing devices to provide strong circulation and shearing power. This ensures that materials are fully dissolved and dispersed, completing mud preparation tasks with high efficiency.

Transfer Pump for Drilling Cuttings Management Systems
Under modern environmental regulations, KOSUN slurry pumps are widely utilized in zero discharge systems. They are responsible for pumping treated waste mud or concentrated cuttings slurry to centrifuges, storage tanks, or subsequent harmless treatment units. This ensures that the waste management process remains compliant with environmental standards.

Site Logistics and Long Distance Fluid Transfer
With a robust structure and high head design, KOSUN slurry pumps easily handle fluid transport tasks between different areas of the wellsite. Whether transferring mud from active tanks to reserve tank farms or general mud relocation, these pumps solve the challenges of material scheduling on site.

Conclusion
KOSUN horizontal centrifugal slurry pumps offer a highly reliable and economical fluid solution for complex drilling conditions. Their oilfield specific wear resistance, broad performance curves, and flexible application capabilities make them an indispensable asset in modern energy extraction.