Bentonite pumping with horizontal directional drilling

Welvreugd Drilling, a Dutch pipeline construction company recently purchased a new mobile bentonite pump for use in HDD - Horizontal Directional Drilling. The pump is used to pump the mixture from the recycler through the hollow pipe into the borehole.

Bentonite is a type of clay with a fine structure which is mixed with water and used as a drilling fluid in tunnel construction. It’s used in order to;

• Cool the drill head
• Remove the drill cuttings
• Stabilize the tunnel

Earlier this year, BBA Pumps introduced the new BV series high efficiency bentonite pumps with a specific focus on the flushing system. The operator can now clean all crucial pump parts both during and after the pumping process via an internal flushing system which prevents pump damage.