International Journal of Engineering and Technical Research (IJETR)

ISSN: 2321-0869, Volume-2, Issue-12, December 2014

Adaptation of Thermal Desorption in the Treatment

of Oil Based Drill Cuttings
S. I. Onwukwe
becoming unacceptable and uneconomical [2]. Operators are
Abstract Drill cuttings represent one of the most required to reduce oil on cuttings (OOC) to less than 1% by
significant waste streams in the upstream oil and gas industry, weight [3].
and they require effective and efficient treatment and disposal. Until the 1980s, there was little or no
The industry is working with regulators to achieve continuous drilling-waste-management as we know it today [4]. In
improvement in its environmental performance, with the
offshore operations, cuttings and excess drill fluids typically
ultimate goal of zero discharge. Drill cuttings may be
contaminated in either water based mud (WBM) or oil based
were discharged overboard, spread on the lease sites or
mud (OBM). Drill cuttings from OBMs are typically buried in land operations. There were little, if any, regulations
hydrocarbon contaminated and will require the filtering of regarding disposal of these materials. Because of increased
contaminants prior to disposal or reuse. This study investigated global awareness and understanding of environmental issues
the effectiveness of treating oil contaminated drill cuttings using in the early 1990s, the effects of drilling operations and
thermal desorption method. Sample of drill cuttings were drilling wastes became a subject of interests to operators,
collected from a field drilling operation in the Niger delta. The service companies, and regulators. Early regulations typically
initial oil content was about 21.8% and after treatment in the restricted what could be disposed of by setting limits on oil or
thermal desorption unit the resultant dry drill cuttings (ash) oil
chloride content or the location of disposal sites.
content was 0.33%. This meets the regulatory requirement of oil
on cuttings (OOC) of less than 1% by weight, eliminating future In many instance, the oil companies operating in the Niger
environmental liabilities. Also, laboratory testing showed that Delta region of Nigeria are required to adopt good oil-field
the recovered base-oil is remarkably similar in composition to disposal practices as prescribed and approved by the
the original diesel in composition and that it can be used in an Directorate of Petroleum Resources (DPR), the regulator of
identical manner. the Nigerian petroleum industry. In line with this therefore,
the DPR have emphasized the implementation of the
Index Terms drill cutting, drilling waste, oil mud following guidelines and standards by the oil operators as
treatment, thermal desorption. requirement for discharge of oil base mud (OBM):

i. To discharge, must submit proof that OBM has low

I. INTRODUCTION toxicity to DPR with permit application. Discharges
Oil well drilling operations requires the use of drilling mud will be treated to DPRs satisfaction.
to aid the drilling process. Muds are circulated through the ii. OBM must be recovered, reconditioned, and
drill bit to lubricate and cool the bit, control the formation recycled.
fluid pressures and to aid in carrying the drill cuttings to the iii. Oil on cuttings (OOC), 1% by weight.
surface, where the mud and cuttings are separated by iv. On-site disposal if oil content does not cause sheen on
mechanical means. The drilling processes are characterized the receiving water.
with the generation of drilling waste, whether on land or off v. Cuttings samples shall be analyzed by Operator as
shore. Drilling waste and its treatment is of increasingly specified by DPR once a day.
concern to oil operator and environmental regulators. These vi. Point of discharge as designated on the installation by
wastes, which typically include drill fluid cuttings and shunting to the bottom.
drilling mud are hazardous and should be treated before vii. DPR to analyse samples at its own discretion for
disposal. The adverse effects of the discharge from drilling toxic/hazardous substances.
operations are of great concern because of the effect of drill viii. Operator to carry out first post drilling seabed
cuttings (which can be water based, oil based, and synthetic survey 9 months after 5 wells have been drilled.
based mud) on the immediate environment [1]. Subsequent seabed surveys shall then be carried out
after a further 18 months or further 10 wells
The first step in managing drilling wastes is to separate the ix. Operator must submit to DPR details of sampling and
solid cuttings from the liquid drilling mud. Once solid and analysis records within 2 weeks of completion of
liquid drilling wastes have been separated, companies can use any well.
a variety of technologies and practice to treat the wastes x. Inspection of operations shall be allowed at all
before disposal. The traditional management practices can be reasonable times.
grouped into: waste minimization, recycle/ reuse, and
disposal. Some disposal methods for oil-based cuttings are The goal of this paper is to produce oil-free drill cuttings, to
meet regulatory requirement, for disposal by distilling off oils
from the cuttings through a thermal desorption process, and
Manuscript received December 09, 2014.
recovering oil to be re-used in the preparation of a fresh
S. I. Onwukwe, Department of Petroleum Engineering, Federal
University of Technology, Owerri, Nigeria, Mobile No. 2348033349327. drilling oil-based mud.

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 Adaptation of Thermal Desorption in the Treatment of Oil Based Drill Cuttings

II. THERMAL DESORPTION cuttings produced three distinct components: oil, water and
The treatment of drill cuttings may involves using thermal solid. A Retort analysis to verify the volume of oil in the dried
desorption method among others. Thermal desorption is the ash was conducted at this point.
separation and recovery process resulting in three stream; Table I: Pre-treatment Analysis of Drilled Cuttings
water, oil and solid. The process is to heat the waste material
to a specified temperature (or sequence of temperatures) in Drill cutting Component Percentage
order to change the physical state of the volatile contaminants /Weight
(i.e. from liquid or solid to gas); vaporising them from the
Oil 30%
material in order to facilitate their removal and subsequent
recovery, whilst preventing their destruction. Water 25%
The heating volatilizes liquid and the vapour is cooled and
separated into water and oil phases [5]. The liquid phase can Solids 45%
be recovered and made into a new drilling-fluid system or
used as a fuel source respectively, while the solids could be 14.5ppg
Density
disposed of or reused [6]. It is safe, reliable and economical
[7]. A. Retort Analysis
Thermal desorption process generally operates at lower A retort analysis provides a means for separating and
temperatures than waste incineration (usually below measuring the volumes of water, oil and solids contained in a
200-400C). Figure 1 shows a schematic of a typical thermal sample of drill cuttings. A known volume of sample is heated
desorption treatment process of oil contaminated drill to vaporize the liquid components which are then condensed
cutting; the treated solid wastes are collected and allowed to and collected in a graduated cylinder. The total volume of
cool before being sent for disposal or recovery. solids, both suspended and dissolved, is obtained by noting
the difference of the total sample volume versus the final
liquid volume collected. Calculations are necessary to
determine the volume of suspended solids since any dissolved
solids will be retained in the retort. Relative volumes of
low-gravity solids and weight materials may also be
calculated.

IV. RESULTS
The result of the retort analysis is shown in the tables II and
III. They were obtained from heating a representative sample
of oil-based drill cuttings and dry cuttings (ash) in the retort
kit at 800F for 45minutes respectively.
Fig. 1: Schematic of a oily drill cutting typical thermal Table IV indicate that the drill cuttings from that well contain
desorption treatment process 21.8% of oil which is far greater than the 1% regulatory
requirement for oil on cuttings (OOC) prerequisite for
discharge of oil base mud. After the drill cuttings have been
A. Treatment of Oil-Based Drill Cuttings passed through the thermal desorption unit, the sample of ash
Hydrocarbons that are used as the base-oil for drilling fluids that was collected showed that it contained about 0.33% of
contain relatively short-chain, small molecules that do not oil (Table V). This meets the target for drill cuttings (dry ash)
crack at the temperatures normally reached in thermal disposal, eliminating future environmental liabilities.
desorption units. Carbon compounds in the C20 to C30 range,
which exist in this fluid, can crack at temperatures as low as Table II: Results of Retort on Drill Cuttings Sample
650F (343C). Measured parameters Measured weight
However, operating the unit at a lower temperature so close to Empty Retort Cup 276.4g
the actual boiling point of the oil would increase the required Full Retort Cup 320.0g
cuttings residency time in the TDU and therefore could Empty Cylinder 76.3g
negatively impact treatment rates. From a process Full Cylinder 94.0g
perspective, the best scenario was to operate at highest Weight of Water (ml 1.0) 8.2g
possible temperature without cracking the oil. Retort Used 50ml-OFI-80 Series

III. METHODOLOGY Table III: Results of Retort on Dry Ash Sample

Sample of drill cuttings from oil based drilling mud were Measured parameters Measured weight
collected from a field drilling operation in the Niger delta. Empty Retort Cup 73.6g
The samples were collected after drill cuttings and liquid Full Retort Cup 88.9g
drilling wastes have been separated. In the pre-treatment Empty Cylinder 19.1g
stage, the weight and relative percentage of each component Full Cylinder 21.1g
of oil, water and solids in the drill cuttings was determined as Weight of Water (ml 1.0) 1.95g
shown in Table I. The treatment was done according to the
Retort Used 20ml-OFI165-14 Series
procedure described by TWMA [8]. The treatment of the drill

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 International Journal of Engineering and Technical Research (IJETR)
ISSN: 2321-0869, Volume-2, Issue-12, December 2014
Table IV: Result analysis of drill cuttings components ii. Fuel for the TDU burners or other processes on site
Parameters Values iii. Feedstock for refined hydrocarbon products
Wt. of Sample used 43.6g iv. The superior quality of the recovered oil compares
Wt. of Liquid Recovered 17.7g favourably to its original state and therefore holds its
Wt. of Water in Sample 8.2g original economic value.
Wt. of Oil 9.5g The treated cuttings have a variety of uses including:
Oil in Sample 21.8% i. Backfill at the site of origin
Water 18.8% ii. Fill material for other sites
iii. Concrete or aggregate mix
Table V: Result analysis of the treated dry Ash iv. As a cover for a sanitary landfill
components
Parameters Values REFERENCES
Wt. of Ash Sample used 15.3g [1] R. M. Atlas and R. Bartha (1993) Effect of Petroleum in the Marine
Environment Microbiological Review, Vol. 49, pp49-80.
Wt. of Liquid Recovered 2.0g [2] B. Wood and C. Efrain (2000) Thermal System Handles Cuttings at
Wt. of Water in Sample 1.95g Colombian Site, Special Report, Oil and Gas Journal, Vol. 98, Issue
Wt. of Oil 0.05g 39.
Oil in Sample 0.33% [3] S. I. Onwukwe and M. S Nwakaudu (2012) Drilling Wastes
Generation and Management Approach, International Journal of
Water 12.8% Environmental Science and Development, Vol. 3, No. 3, June 2012,
Pages 252-257
Further laboratory testing using gas chromatographs to [4] S. Seaton, R. Morris, J. Blonquist and B. Hogan (2006) Analysis of
compare the paraffin distribution in the fresh oil and Drilling Fluid Base Oil Recovered from Drilling Waste by Thermal
Desorption presented at 13th International Petroleum Environmental
recovered oil by thermal desorption has shown that the Conference, San Antonio, Texas, October 16th 19th 2006.
recovered diesel is remarkably similar in composition to the [5] SDF (Speciality Drilling Fluid); (2008) Thermal Desorption System
original diesel (Figure 2), and that it may be re-used in an for Treating Drilling Cuttings. Nigeria SDF, 2008.
identical manner. This proves that there was no appreciable [6] K. M. Bansal and H. Sugiarto (1999), "Exploration and Production
Operations Waste Management A Comparative Overview: US and
thermal degradation that would have cause cracking of the Indonesia Cases," SPE54345, SPE Asia Pacific Oil and Gas
base-oil during the process. The difference in peak height Conference, Jakarta, Indonesia, April 20-22.
between the two is due to in-feed sample testing performed [7] R. Snyder (1999). Drilling More Effective with Fewer Rigs. World
using extraction method to remove the oil phase from the Oil (online). Available: http://www.findarticles.com/cf/p2/articlejhtml
[8] TWMA (Total Waste Management Alliance). TCC-Roto Mill.
cuttings, while whole recovered diesel oil was tested in the Manual, 2008.
second graph using a dilution method. Actual peak heights
and position show remarkable similarity between the two
samples.

S. I. Onwukwe is a research fellow in the Shell

Chair, Department of Petroleum Engineering, Federal University of
Technology, Owerri. He hold degrees in Petroleum Engineering and his
research interests are in areas of reservoir engineering and oil field waste
management.

Fig. 2: Gas Chromatograph; fresh oil and recovered oil

comparison

V. CONCLUSION
One of the increasingly concern of the oil and gas operators is
to reduce the oil on cuttings before disposal as required by the
regulators. Thermal desorption process can thoroughly
remove hydrocarbons from drilled cuttings and recover clean
base oil. Contaminants can be recovered and recycled into
useful products and the clean soil can be returned to the
environment reducing future liability.
The recovered oils have several possible uses:
i. Base fluid for the makeup of new drilling fluid,

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