Ashapura Bentonite PILOGEL (API Grade) is a world-class sodium bentonite powder engineered to deliver exceptional rheology, superior gel strength, and unmatched suspension properties in various drilling, piling, and civil engineering applications. Manufactured by Ashapura Group, one of the largest and most trusted bentonite producers globally, PILOGEL is formulated to meet and exceed the rigorous standards set by the American Petroleum Institute (API). Its outstanding quality, consistent performance, and high purity make it the preferred choice for contractors and drilling professionals across geotechnical, construction, and exploration sectors.

Composition & Key Characteristics

PILOGEL is a highly refined, naturally occurring sodium montmorillonite clay with extraordinary swelling capacity—absorbing up to many times its own volume in water. When hydrated, it forms a smooth, viscous, and thixotropic slurry capable of stabilizing boreholes, carrying drill cuttings, and minimizing fluid loss. Its uniform particle size, low sand content, and high purity ensure maximum efficiency in mixing and application.

Key chemical and physical properties include:

High Yield & Fast Hydration: Forms a stable gel in minutes, reducing mixing time and improving productivity.

Superior Gel Strength: Maintains suspension of solids, preventing settling and ensuring smooth drilling.

Excellent Filtration Control: Creates a thin, impermeable filter cake on borehole walls, reducing fluid loss and preventing collapse.

Low Sand Content: Less abrasiveness leads to reduced wear on drilling tools and pumps.

High Swelling Index: Enhances slurry volume, reduces consumption, and lowers operational cost.

Performance Advantages

One of PILOGEL’s strongest advantages is its balanced viscosity and thixotropic properties, which allow the slurry to become fluid during agitation and return to a gel state when static. This dual behavior is essential for:

1. Suspending drill cuttings during pauses

2. Maintaining stability in deep boreholes

3. Avoiding sedimentation during long drilling operations

 

Additionally, PILOGEL exhibits superior borehole stability, even in challenging soil formations such as loose sand, gravel, and mixed strata. It prevents swelling of reactive clays, controls erosion, and ensures a smooth, uniform slurry column during drilling or piling operations.

Applications in Construction and Drilling

PILOGEL is widely used in:

1. Piling Works

For bored piles, cast-in-situ piles, secant piles, or diaphragm walls, PILOGEL helps maintain verticality, prevent collapse, and support excavation faces. It provides the right density and viscosity needed to stabilize deep shafts.

2. Horizontal Directional Drilling (HDD)

Its superior carrying capacity and lubrication properties reduce torque and drag, ensuring efficient pipe installation with minimal disruption to surrounding soil.

3. Water Well Drilling

PILOGEL maintains borehole integrity, improves filtration control, and ensures smooth removal of cuttings even at significant depths.

4. Oil & Gas Exploration

Given its API-standard quality, PILOGEL is suitable for use in non-critical oilfield drilling operations where dependable slurry behavior is required.

5. Geotechnical & Environmental Drilling

Used for soil investigation, sampling, and environmental monitoring wells due to its stability and non-toxic nature.

Benefits for Contractors & Engineers

Reduces overall slurry consumption due to high swelling capacity

Improves drilling efficiency with smoother circulation and cuttings transport

Minimizes equipment wear ensuring longer service life of pumps, pipes, and bits

Enhances site safety by preventing borehole collapse and unexpected failures

Ensures predictable, repeatable performance thanks to strict quality control and consistent material composition

PILOGEL’s uniformity ensures engineers can rely on stable results across projects, making planning and execution more efficient.

Mixing & Usage Guidelines

PILOGEL blends effortlessly with fresh water using mechanical or manual mixing. For optimum performance:

Add bentonite gradually to water

Maintain continuous agitation

Allow hydration time for full viscosity development

Dosage depends on soil condition, borehole depth, and slurry requirements, but typically ranges between 3%–8% by weight. Adjustments can be made based on field observations.

Quality Assurance & Certification

Ashapura maintains strict quality protocols at every stage—from mining to processing to packaging. PILOGEL (API Grade) undergoes:

Rheological testing

Swelling and filtration analysis

Sand content evaluation

Gel strength measurement

Moisture and purity checks

This ensures a reliable product that meets international API specifications for drilling-grade bentonite.

Conclusion

Ashapura Bentonite PILOGEL (API Grade) stands out as a high-performance, cost-effective, and dependable drilling bentonite designed for modern construction and drilling needs. Whether for piling, HDD, well drilling, or geotechnical works, PILOGEL provides unmatched slurry stability, superior viscosity, and maximum control in every environment. Its consistent API-grade quality ensures predictable performance, making it the trusted choice of engineers, contractors, and developers worldwide.