Spent water-based drilling fluids generated during the construction of technological wells impose substantial environmental, water-management, transportation, and energy burdens. Conventional practices, including storage in temporary pits, prolonged settling, and off-site disposal, do not enable process-water recovery and require repeated handling of suspensions with a high solids content. This study evaluates a pressure-driven cylindrical hydrodynamic disperser as the central component of a compact on-site treatment system. Unlike conventional mechanical mixers, the disperser contains no driven shaft within the active chamber. Particle–reagent contact is intensified through controlled jet shear, vortex-induced redistribution, and the motion of freely moving steel balls. Field-derived drilling fluids containing 30–40 wt.% solids, with densities of 1.12–1.17 g/cm3, pH values of 7.4–8.2, and median particle sizes of 15–50 μm, were treated at velocity gradients of 500–1500 s−1 for 60–180 s using Superfloc N-300 dosages of 0–100 g/t. The optimal operating conditions were G = 1300 s−1, τ = 150 s, and D = 50 g/t. Under these conditions, the separation efficiency reached 91–93%, the residual suspended-solids concentration decreased to 120–130 mg/L, process-water recovery reached 80%, sludge volume decreased by 40–60%, and specific energy consumption was approximately 0.30 kWh/m3. More intensive treatment increased the separation efficiency to 94–95% but resulted in a less favorable balance among energy consumption, reagent dosage, and resource recovery. Compared with mechanical mixing, the selected treatment system reduced flocculant consumption by 37.5%, treatment time by more than threefold, and specific energy consumption by 40%. These results support the use of modular on-site systems for process-water recirculation and reduced sludge-transport requirements at remote drilling sites.
This paper reports a single-site, pilot-scale field deployment of an integrated hydraulic shock, hydrodynamic cavitation, and attrition treatment system for hydrocarbon-contaminated sludge and sand at Saudi Aramco's Shaybah Gas Oil Separation Plant (GOSP). The study design was a continuous-flow field trial conducted over a period of 4 weeks against a documented pre-existing disposal baseline (800 km transport to off-site landfill with no resource recovery). There was no concurrent experimental control arm, as the full waste volume generated during a turnaround and inspection (T&I) event was processed through the pilot system. A total feed volume of 1300 m3 of oily sludge, sand, and associated water was processed at a peak throughput of 10 m3/h. Total petroleum hydrocarbon (TPH) concentration in the sand fraction was determined by EPA Method 8015D; basic sediment and water (BS&W) content of recovered oil was determined by ASTM D4007; total suspended solids (TSS) in recovered water was determined by Standard Methods 2540D. The treatment reduced TPH in the sand fraction from a mean of 90,000 mg/kg (range 20,100-150,000 mg/kg; n = 3) in the oily sludge feed to a mean of 5700 mg/kg (range 2010-8000 mg/kg; n = 3) in the treated solid, representing a 94% mean reduction. The system recovered 2820 barrels (448.3 m3) of oil at a mean BS&W of 0.1% (range 0.07-0.15%; n = 3) and 920 m3 of water at a mean TSS of 64 mg/L (range 40-75 mg/L; n = 3), both returned to the production process. Waste volume requiring landfill disposal was reduced by 97.5% (from 1300 m3 to 33 m3 of residual solids). The pilot avoided 155 metric tonnes of CO2 emissions associated with transportation relative to the pre-existing disposal baseline, net of emissions from the on-site diesel generator. These results indicate that integrated hydraulic shock and cavitation treatment can achieve TPH reduction, resource recovery, and waste diversion performance at field scale comparable to or exceeding values reported for laboratory-scale cavitation systems, while processing an uncontrolled, heterogeneous real-world feedstock.
Tamim Alburaikan, Osama Bukhari, A. Akinpelu et al.· Journal of Environmental Man...· 0 citations
Mine leachate and saline industrial wastewater streams are often treated as liabilities to be remediated or disposed of. These flows often contain substantial water and dissolved mineral resources that can be reclaimed. In this work, a waste-heat-assisted falling-film evaporation reactor was developed and assessed for application as a pre-concentration step before water and mineral recovery processes. Two case studies were considered: synthetic saline wastewater containing 80 g/L Na2SO4 and 70 g/L NaCl for salt recovery, and iron-rich mine water containing approximately 4000 mg/L Fe2+, 95 mg/L Fe3+, and 13,000 mg/L acidity as CaCO3 for downstream pigment and magnetite recovery. Saline water or mine leachate flows down a bank of vertical conduit pipes as a thin film while air flows through the pipe cores. Heat is transferred to the system from industrial waste gas externally. Psychrometric relationships, heat transfer, energy balances, and techno-economic analysis were used to assess the impact of air temperature, conduit diameter, column height, pipe material, and waste-gas temperature on overall reactor performance. Experiments were carried out to confirm expected psychrometric operation and establish appropriate operating temperatures while confirming the impact of conduit geometry on heat-transfer characteristics. A benchmark case of design evaporation rate equal to 100 L/h was chosen for comparison of all tests. Dry air operation was shown to be technically possible but severely limited by the moisture capacity of air; at 26 °C and 101.3 kPa, approximately 205,000 m3/h of air was required. When using industrial waste heat, the operation changed from psychrometric/mass-transfer-limited to heat-transfer-controlled. Using waste gas entering at 144 °C and exiting at 80 °C reduced airflow requirements to approximately 880 m3/h, allowing a much more compact reactor design with approximately 635 (12 mm diameter) conduit pipes. Relative to the 40 °C air benchmark, electrical power was reduced from approximately 24.7 kW to 2.9 kW, and screening-level reactor cost by ~84%. Findings demonstrated that appropriate waste heat enables the application of evaporation if there is sufficient local heat flux. Smaller conduit diameters, sufficient column height, and greater waste-gas inlet temperatures were all beneficial. Choice of material required trade-offs between heat-transfer coefficient, corrosion, and material cost.
M. G. Rapeta, J. P. Maree, T. Msagati· Minerals· 0 citations
The treatment of high-viscosity oil-bearing drilling mud from offshore platforms is constrained by limited space and stringent environmental regulations, yet no previous study has demonstrated the combined application of ozone-assisted micro-nano bubble (MNB) oxidation with filtrate recycling for this specific waste stream. Here, we address this gap by integrating ozone MNB treatment, flotation oil removal, and filtrate reuse into a unified process for the viscosity reduction and deoiling of water-based drilling mud. Experimental results show that the ozone MNB process achieves a viscosity reduction rate exceeding 50.2% and an oil removal rate of 60.87%, with filtrate ion concentrations (Ca2+ 382 mg/L, Mg2+ 1380 mg/L, SO42− 1107 mg/L) within reuse thresholds. Drilling fluid reformulated with the recycled filtrate maintains consistent rheological properties before and after thermal aging. These findings demonstrate that the coupled ozone MNB treatment-reuse strategy is scientifically viable for managing high-viscosity drilling waste, advancing beyond conventional disposal approaches by enabling simultaneous viscosity reduction, oil removal, and resource recovery within a compact process footprint.
To address the technical challenges of wellbore instability, excessive friction and torque, and poor hole cleaning encountered in the drilling of extended-reach wells in shale oil and gas reservoirs, this paper determined the optimal formula by optimizing the emulsification system, rheological control system, and filtration and plugging system: oil-water ratio of 85:15, 1.4% emulsifier N180, 0.4% wetting agent YX-1, 1.2% calcium oxide, 0.8% organically modified bentonite, 1.2% polyamide M2000, 2.2% asphalt R45, 2.5% 800-mesh calcium carbonate, 2.5% 1500-mesh calcium carbonate, with barite to adjust the density to 1.8 g/cm3. Laboratory experiments showed that after aging the optimized system at 140 °C for 16 hours, the demulsification voltage reached 895 V, the high temperature and high pressure (HTHP) filtration loss was only 1.9 mL, the cuttings hot rolling recovery rate was 97.5%, the extreme pressure lubrication coefficient was 0.06, the resistance to bentonite contamination reached 0.8%, the resistance to salt and calcium contamination reached 0.5%, and the core permeability recovery value exceeded 94%. In field application, the rate of penetration (ROP) was increased by 18.5% compared with adjacent wells, no accidents such as wellbore collapse and stuck pipe occurred, and the qualification rate of cementing quality was 100%. The research results provide technical support for the safe and efficient drilling of extended-reach wells in shale oil and gas reservoirs and have important popularization value.
Jianquan Liu, Xiang Gao, Zhilin Ye et al.· Journal of Physics, Conferen...· 0 citations
Under high-temperature and high-pressure conditions, drilling fluids with long-term stability and low formation damage are one of the key technologies for ensuring safe and efficient drilling in deep reservoirs and achieving higher oil and gas production. In this study, a zwitterionic polymer (SPG) with high-temperature resistance was used to maintain dispersion stability and prevent nanoparticle aggregation, ensuring a uniform distribution of solid particles in the system. On this basis, a set of clay-free water-based drilling fluids (HT-CFWBDFs) was developed. The synergistic effect of SPG and nanoparticles improved the rheological properties and controlled fluid loss of HT-CFWBDFs. The HT-CFWBDFs were tolerant of saturation levels of NaCl, CaCl2, and CaBr2. CaCl2-based HT-CFWBDFs with a density of 1.41 g/cm3 could maintain appropriate rheological properties and low fluid loss after aging at 180 °C for 120 h. The HT-CFWBDFs exhibited good resistance to 3% inferior clay and CO2 contamination. They exhibited more stable rheological properties than bentonite-based drilling fluids under the same contaminated conditions. Furthermore, the HT-CFWBDFs exhibited good inhibition and reservoir protection performance. The HT-CFWBDFs have broad application potential as drilling or drill-in fluids in harsh formations and deep reservoirs.
Tai-Feng Zhang, Jinsheng Sun, Kai-He Lv et al.· Energy & Fuels· 0 citations
Water-based drilling cuttings (WBDC) are generated in large quantities during oil and gas development, but their reuse in road construction is restricted by insufficient bearing capacity, moisture sensitivity, and potential contaminant release. This study developed an alkali-activated GGBS-FA-based composite binder containing cement and sodium silicate to stabilize WBDC for road construction. The optimized binder was evaluated in terms of mechanical properties, water stability, wet-dry and freeze-thaw durability, environmental performance, and microstructural characteristics. At a total binder dosage of 15%, the stabilized WBDC achieved a 28d unconfined compressive strength of 10.17 MPa, a splitting tensile strength of 1.46 MPa, and a water stability coefficient of 94.44%. After nine wet-dry and freeze-thaw cycles, the corresponding strength retention ratios were 97.06% and 87.25%, respectively. Stabilization reduced the leachate chemical oxygen demand from 260 to 4 mg/L. SEM-EDS observations showed that products with gel-like and needle-like morphologies progressively coated and connected WBDC particles and improved matrix continuity. The results provide a low-energy route for the large-volume utilization of WBDC and indicate that a 15% binder dosage provides a practical balance between engineering performance and binder consumption for road construction.
Qi-Qi Zhan, Bailin Shan, Xue-Juan Cao et al.· Frontiers in Materials· 1 citation
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