Page 329 - Shale Shakers Drilling Fluid Systems

GLOSSARY 311

Mf The methyl orange alkalinity of the filtrate, reported as the number of
milliliters of 0.02 normal sulfuric acid required per milliliter of filtrate to
decrease the pH to reach the methyl orange end point (pH 4.3).

Mica Naturally occurring mineral flake material of various sizes used in con-
trolling lost circulation. An alkali aluminum silicate.

Micelles Organic and inorganic molecular aggregates occurring in colloidal solu-
tions. Long chains of individual structural units chemically joined to
one another and deposited side by side to form bundles. When bento-
nite hydrates and certain sodium or other metallic ions go into the solu-
tion, the clay particle plus its complement of ions is technically known
as a micelle.

Micron A unit of length equal to one thousandth of a millimeter. Used to specify
particle sizes in drilling fluids and solids control discussions (25,400 mi-
crons = 1 inch).

Mil A unit of length equal to 1/1000 inch.

Milk Emulsion See.- Oil-In-Water Emulsion Drilling Fluid.
Mill Grade Cloth A group of industrial wire cloth specifications with lighter wire than market
grade cloth. The standard wire diameter of this grade produces a median
percentage of open area. Market grade and mill grade clothes are used
mostly as support screens for fine mesh screens. See: Market Grade Cloth,
Tensile Bolting Cloth, Ultra Fine Wire Cloth, Support Screen, Calendered.

Millidarcy 1/1000 Darcy. See: Darcy.

Milliliter A metric system unit for the measurement of volume. Literally 1/1000th
of a liter. In drilling fluid analyses, this term is used interchangeably with
cubic centimeter (cc). One quart is equal to approximately 946 ml.

Mini Still An instrument used to distill oil, water, and any other volatile material
in a drilling fluid to determine oil, water, and total solids content in vol-
ume percent. See: Distillation, Mini Still, Mud Still.

Mist Drilling A method of rotary drilling whereby water and/or oil is dispersed in air
and/or gas as the drilling fluid. See: Foam.

Ml See: Milliliter.

Molecule Atoms combine to form molecules. For elements or compounds, a mol-
ecule is the smallest unit that chemically still retains the properties of
the substance in mass.

Monovalent See.- Valence.

Montmorillonite A clay mineral commonly used as an additive to drilling muds. Sodium
montmorillonite is the main constituent of bentonite. Each platelet of the
crystalline structure of montmorillonite has two layers of silicon tetrahe-
dra attached to a center layer of alumina octhahedra. The platelets are
thin and have a broad surface. Exchangeable cations are located on the
clay surfaces between the platelets. Calcium montmorillonite is the main
constituent in low-yield clays. See.- Gel, Bentonite.

Mud Drilling Fluid is the preferred term. See: Drilling Fluid.