**3. Mud preparation**

54 New Technologies in the Oil and Gas Industry

**Figure 1.** Soxhlet extractor assembly.

solid material.

Fig. 2.

was stored.

The extraction procedure is given below:

1. 50g of crushed plant seeds were measured out, and tied in filter papers.

5. Then at a certain level, the siphon emptied the liquid into the flask.

about 300ml of n-Hexane through the main chamber. 3. The chamber is fitted into a flask containing 300ml of n-Hexane.

2. The sample was loaded into the main chamber of the Soxhlet extractor and poured in

4. The heating mantle was turned on and the system was left to heat at 70o C. The solvent was heated to reflux. The solvent vapour travelled up a distillation arm, and flooded into the chamber housing the solid wrapped in filter papers. The condenser condensed the solvent vapour, and the vapour dripped back down into the chamber housing the

6. This cycle was repeated until the sample in the chamber changed colour to a

7. The mixture was separated via the use of simple distillation, as shown in the set up in

8. The distillation took place at 70oC; the hexane was recovered and re-used while the oil

considerable extent, and collected the fluid mixture in glass reagent bottles.

extraction of a lipid from a solid material.

apparatus invented in 1879 by Franz von Soxhlet. It was originally designed for the

The densities of the various base fluids (water, algae oil, moringa oil, jatropha oil and diesel) were measured using the mud balance shown in diagram 3


**Figure 3.** Mud Balance

## **3.1. Density**


#### **3.2. Viscosity**


#### **3.3. Gel strength**

12. The speed selector knob was then rotated to to stir the mud sample for a few seconds, then it was rotated to gel setting and the power was immediately shut off.

