STAGE 03 · FINE + WEIGHT RECOVERY

Mud cleaner

Cones over a fine screen — the barite-saver

A mud cleaner is a hybrid stage: a bank of desilter cones sitting over a fine-mesh shaker screen. The cones make the cut, and the underflow lands on the screen — which recovers valuable barite that plain cyclones would throw away, while still rejecting fine drilled solids. It exists for one reason: on a weighted mud, bare desilters discard the barite you paid for.

What it does

On weighted mud, remove fine drilled solids while recovering barite — by screening the desilter underflow so weight material returns to the active system and only coarser drilled solids are discarded.

How it works

Desilter cones make a 15–40 µm cut; their underflow, instead of going to waste, drops onto a fine-mesh vibrating screen. Barite (ground to pass 200 mesh, ~74 µm and finer) and fluid pass through the screen back to the active system, while the coarser drilled solids are conveyed off and discarded. It separates by size where the cone alone could not protect the barite.

Key components

Desilter cone bankMakes the fine cut on the feed; same cones as a standalone desilter.

Fine-mesh screen deckCatches and returns barite from the cone underflow; the defining component.

Underflow housingDirects cone underflow onto the screen rather than to waste.

Feed pump & manifoldSupplies the cones their design head, exactly as a desilter.

Operating parameters

Parameter	Range	Notes
Cone feed head	≥ 75 ft	Same as any desilter — head rules the cut
Screen mesh	fine	Sized to pass barite, reject coarse drilled solids
Use case	weighted mud	On unweighted mud, a desilter alone is usually enough

Health indicators — what good looks like

Healthy umbrella spray on the cones (head in band).
Barite returning to the active system — mud weight holding without constant additions.
Discard on the screen is coarse drilled solids, not fluid-heavy.
LGS controlled without discarding weight material.

Common problems & how to fix them

The failures this machine throws, each with a full field fix:

Cone roping / low head

Cones rope — the cut fails before the screen even matters.

Troubleshoot →

Cone plugging

Dead cones — underflow stops reaching the screen.

Troubleshoot →

Screen blinding/failure (on the deck)

The recovery screen blinds or holes — barite lost or solids bypass.

Troubleshoot →

Field tips

On weighted mud, run a mud cleaner — not bare desilters — or you discard the barite you bought.
The cones still rule: if feed head is low the cut fails and the recovery screen has nothing useful to do.
Watch the recovery screen for blinding the same way you watch a primary shaker — a blinded screen sends barite to waste.

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