Water retort

A method of measuring a water volume of a drilling fluid, the method comprising:

• providing a water retort apparatus comprising:
• a sample test cell,
• a heating element,
• a condenser in fluidic communication with the sample test cell,
• a sight glass in fluidic communication with the condenser,
• a camera, and
• a controller;
• placing a sample of the drilling fluid in the sample test cell, wherein the drilling fluid comprises water, oil, and suspended solids;
• heating the sample of the drilling fluid to a temperature sufficient to evaporate the water but not to a temperature sufficient to evaporate the oil;
• condensing the evaporated water in the condenser to provide liquid water;
• collecting the liquid water in the sight glass;
• capturing images of the liquid water in the sight glass with the camera;
• and
• analyzing the images of the liquid water to estimate the volume of water in the sight glass.

A system for measuring the water volume of a drilling fluid, the system comprising:

• a water retort apparatus comprising:
• a sample test cell,
• a heating element configured to heat the sample test cell to a temperature between about 212° F. and about 400° F.,
• a condenser in fluidic communication with the sample test cell,
• a sight glass in fluidic communication with the condenser,
• a camera configured to capture images of the sight glass, and
• a controller configured to analyze the images captured by the camera;
• and
• a drilling fluid comprising water, oil, and suspended solids.