Polyanionic cellulose (PAC) is a common additive to water-based drilling muds. Often used in regions with hard-rock applications, such as the Rocky Mountain range in the U.S. and Canada, PACs were primarily used because of their ability to control fluid loss, improve carrying capacity and offer inhibition properties. However, PACs have drawbacks, particularly cost, heat […]
There has been a growing commercial emphasis in recent years to “go green.” At Chemstar we kind of chuckle at this notion, as we’ve been the original “green company” long before green became a marketing buzzword. It’s not that we specifically set out to be “green.” Mother Nature did the majority of the work for […]
We wanted to share an interesting story of how we partnered with a global leader in base metals to overcome technical and economic challenges involved in their mining operations. It was a joint venture that was truly a win-win for Chemstar and our customer. It was also one of our chemists’ most challenging and rewarding […]
Starch is an incredibly versatile polymer. When the right science is applied it provides benefits for a variety of industrial applications and can overcome many complex challenges. A great example is how our chemists developed a solution to solve the Microtox testing riddle for the oil and gas drilling market in Canada. For many years, […]
As we’ve described in previous posts, Chemstar started out supplying starch based solutions for the oil and gas drilling industry. As we began to expand and diversify, we took a hard look at what other industries could benefit from our products. We soon realized our starch-based polymers could be used as an additive to more […]
At Chemstar, one of the projects we’re most proud of is the work we do for the Troll Platform. Located off the west coast of Norway, this natural gas drilling operation is tremendously important to the European economy. It’s also one of the first drilling projects to prove water-based drilling fluids can work for horizontal […]
In our previous post we discussed the reasons why starch-based tackifiers are a solid alternative to guar in the erosion control industry. But starch is used to replace guar in a variety of industries, including oil & gas drilling, mining and construction products, just to name a few. Many of these reasons are based on […]
We often get calls from people in the erosion control industry looking for organic substitutes to guar tackifiers. They typically contact us for one of two reasons – either they’re always on the search for new and improved products, or they’ve experienced supply problems with guar tackifiers. While we can’t deny guar is an effective […]