Gilsonite Consumption Usage:
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1. Asphalt and Road Paving Sector
For many years, Gilsonite has been used in the oilfield as an additive in drilling fluids. Gilsonite, in various grades and formulations, has been used to combat borehole instability problems, provide lubricity, especially in highly deviated holes, and more recently as a bridging agent to combat differential pressure sticking and provide a law invasion coring fluid. It has been well documented that appropriately formulated Gilsonite products can minimize hole collapse in formations containing water-sensitive, sloughing shales and reduce stuck pipe problems by forming a thin wall cake and an inter-matrix filter cake.
Gilsonite products are currently being widely used in water based, oil based, and synthetic based mud systems worldwide. Blended Gilsonite has proved to be very effective in all water-based systems, with the flagship product in this line being Bore-Plate(R) Shale Stabilizer.
2. Oil Sector
Gilsonite is used in drilling mud fluids and oil well cementing. Gilsonite, in a range of softening points and particle sizes, is a standard ingredient in oil-based drilling muds used in shales and other difficult geological formations. The addition of specially-treated Gilsonite to water-based drilling fluids helps minimize hole washout by stabilizing troublesome shales, and seals off highly permeable sands while reducing torque and drag. The addition of Gilsonite to oil well cements reduces slurry weight without loss of compressive strength and acts as an effective bridging and plugging agent to seal fractures in weak formations while cementing
3. Asphalt and Road Paving Sector
Gilsonite is used as a performance-enhancing agent for asphalt mixes. Gilsonite-modified paving mixes achieve higher PG grades and incorporate perfectly into the asphalt blend with no need for high shear milling as is the case with many other modifiers. Gilsonite-modified asphalts have higher stability, reduced deformation, reduced temperature susceptibility and increased resistance to water stripping than non-modified asphalts. Gilsonite is also used to make both solvent-based and emulsion pavement sealers with superior appearance and weathering properties.
4. Foundry Sector
Gilsonite is combined with coal and other ingredients as an additive in foundry sands to insure the quality of the molded part by improving mold release and the overall finish of metal castings.
5. Chemical Products Sector
Gilsonite combines with many other chemicals and materials that take advantage of its unique physical and chemical properties. Binder and coating applications in metallurgical, wood product, refractary and other industries further demonstrate the versatility and usefulness of this remarkable material.
6. Inks and Paints Sector
Iranian Gilsonite Resin is widely used as the primary carbon black wetting agent for black news inks and headset and gravure inks. Iranian Gilsonite Resin competes advantageously with petroleum-based hydrocarbon resins, phenolic resins and metal resinates, all of which it can complement or replace to various degrees. Various concentrations of Iranian Gilsonite Resin are used to manufacture law-rub-off news inks with superior gloss and tack properties. Special grades of Gilsonite called Selects are also standard ingredients in black ink formulations and are used as additives in asphaltic paints and varnishes.