EXCESS BENTONITE DISPOSAL

AS
RESEARCHED
BY
IDIKA BLESSING

Bentonite is one of the components of drilling fluids; which enhances viscosity and also
checkmates fluid loss into the formation being drilled. It is regarded to be low gravity
solid. When spurt loss occurs; a situation where whole mud is lost to the porous
formation (e.g. sand), bentonite form thin and firm filter cake which checks this situation.
Drilling fluid influx contaminates the formation fluid and damage the formation to some
extent. A good cake is achieved when the bentonite is deflocculated (face-to-face
arrangement). Flocculated (edge-to-face or edge-edge arrangement) drilling fluid do not
form a good filter cake (the filter cake formed is thick and porous).

Excess bentonite leads to stuck pipe and also reduces the rate of penetration (ROP) and
the rate at which the fluid jets out from the bit nozzle. It makes the fluid to over gel. This
flocculates the system and it takes the thinner (lignite or lignosulphonate) to deflocculate
the system. It takes much agitation to blend bentonite and any fluid that is the continuous
phase to avoid fish-eye. The rate at which it is mixed at the hopper also affects the fluid.

Bentonite, barite and other additives blend with oil or water; depending on which is the
continuous phase to form the oil base mud (OBM) or the water base mud (WBM). In this
form, bentonite is disposed as a whole mud or with the drill cuttings after use. Before
disposal, the drill cuttings soaked with mud are further treated by passing them through
the decanting centrifuge or by heating. This is to reduce the oil stuck to the drill cuttings
to the minimum.

Bentonite is disposed according to the material safety data sheet (MSDS) of the company
that produced it. Most companies states that it can be disposed of by burial because it is a
natural mineral.

This research is all about the disposal of the drilling fluid and drill cuttings through
onshore injection, land farming, land spreading, land fills, composting and thermal
technologies.
Clay (Bentonite) Chemistry
Bentonite has Chemical Formula of: Al2O34SiO2H2O

Structure of clay
Clays are minerals which in the presence of water and agitation will adsorb water and
break up into colloidal particles. Each particle is only a few microns in thickness and
consists of two or more discrete layers. They have plate-like shape. The particles may be
several microns wide, but only a few angstroms thick. A micron equal to 1 x 10-6m while
an angstrom is 1 x 10-10m. A clay particle will be roughly 10,000 times wider than it is
thick. This makes bentonite beneficial to reducing filtrate loss.

Clays are hydrous aluminum silicates composed of alternating layers of alumina and
silica. Silica is a tetrahedral structure with a silicon atom surrounded by four oxygen
atoms at equal distance from each other. The silica tetrahedrons are joined in a hexagonal
structure which is replicated to form a sheet, with the tips pointing in the same direction
and the base on the same plane.

Alumina has an octahedral structure consisting of an aluminum atom with six oxygen
atoms arranged in an octahedron around it. These aluminum octahedra are joined in a
structure which replicates to form a sheet.

These sheets of alumina and silica alternate to form the various clays. Concerned clays
are clays with 2 or 3 layers; kaolinites, illites, chlorites, smectites and attapulgite and
sepiolite.

Kaolinites are two layer clay composed of a tetrahedral silica sheet and an octahedral
alumina sheet. Kaolinite particles are held together by hydrogen bonding which is strong
enough to exclude water from the clay surface, consequently, kaolinites are considered
non-swelling.

Illites are three layered clays without expanding lattice; therefore no water can penetrate
between the layers. They are composed of an alumina octahedral layer sandwiched by
two silica tetrahedrals. The resulting charge discrepancy is balanced by the association of
potassium ions between layers. It exhibits some degree of swelling. The cation exchange
capacity of illite is 10-40 meq/100g.

Chlorites are three-layered clays separated by a layer of brucite. There is a strong

bonding between layers and for this reason chlorites are non-swelling. It has a cation
exchange capacity of 10-40meq/100g.

Smectites (montimorillonites) are family of three layer clays of which montimorillonites

are member. They consist of an alumina octahedral sandwiched between two silica
tetrahedral layers. Aluminum atoms at the centre may be replaced by magnesium or irons
atoms causing a charge imbalance. This imbalance is countered by the association of
positive cations at the particles surface. These cations may be monovalent (eg. Na+) or
divalent (Ca++). The character of the exchangeable cation influences the extent to which
montimorillonites will swell. The divalent cations because of the extra charge tend to
associate with adjacent particles and consequently restrict swelling of the clay. For this
reason, calcium montimorillonites is a poor viscosifier. Sodium montimorillonites due to
their structures, the bonds between the particles are weaker than other clays which add to
its ability to hydrate.

Attapulgite and sepiolite.

Attapulgite and sepiolite are used in special situations in which montimorillonites will not
perform. These clays differ in structure from more common clays in that they are
elongated rod-shaped particles. Although there is water associated with these clays, they
do not hydrate. These clays provide little filtration control because of their shape.

Clay Interactions

We use several terms for describing the specific behaviors of clay-water interactions.
These are aggregation, dispersion, flocculation and deflocculation. The clay in its dry
state has platelets stacked in face-to-face association, like a deck of cards.

Aggregation: When the dry clay is placed into fresh water without agitation, the packets
absorb water, hydrate, and swell.

Dispersion: Upon agitation, the swollen packets disintegrate into individual plates or
smaller packets of plates.

Flocculation: When agitation is stopped, clay platelets will be mutually attracted in edge-
to-edge or edge-to-face association.

Deflocculation: If an anionic chemical thinner (deflocculant) is added, such as

polyphosphate, lignosulfonate or lignite, etc, it neutralizes the positive edge charges on
clay platelets and the flocculated state is now deflocculated.

Drilling fluids

Drilling fluids are fluids designed and formulated to enable an operator to reach the
desired geologic objective at the lowest overall cost.

Types of drilling fluids and drilling fluid composition

Drilling fluids consist of a continuous liquid phase, to which various chemicals and solids have
been added to modify the operational properties of the resulting mix. Key operational properties
include density, viscosity, fluid loss, ion-exchange parameters, reactivity and salinity.
There are two primary types of drilling fluids: water based fluids (WBFs) and non-aqueous
drilling fluids (NADFs). WBFs consist of water mixed with bentonite clay and barium sulphate
(barite) to control mud density and thus, hydrostatic head. Others substances are added to gain the
desired drilling properties. These additives include thinners (eg lignosulphonate, or anionic
polymers), filtration control agents (polymers such as carboxymethyl cellulose or starch) and
lubrication agents (eg polyglycols) and numerous other compounds for specific functions. WBF
composition depends on the density of the fluid. An example, WBF composition (in wt %) for a
1,190 kg/m3 (9.93 lb/gal) fluid is: 76 wt% water, 15% barite, 7% bentonite and 2% salts and other
additives.
NADFs are emulsions where the continuous phase is the NABF with water and chemicals as the
internal phase. The NADFs comprise all non-water and non-water dispersable base fluids. Similar
to WBFs, additives are used to control the properties of NADFs. Emulsifiers are used in NADFs
to stabilise the water-in-oil emulsions. As with WBFs, barite is used to provide sufficient density.
Viscosity is controlled by adjusting the ratio of base fluid to water and by the use of clay
materials. The base fluid provides sufficient lubricity to the fluid, eliminating the need for
lubricating agents. NADF composition depends on fluid density. The United States
Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) (1999a) presented an example NADF composition
of (in wt%) 47% base fluid, 33% barite and 20% water. This example does not reflect a 2-5%
content of additives such as fluid loss agents and emulsifiers that would be used in a NADF.

Drilling Fluid Toxicity

The degree to which a material is considered toxic is determined by the relative danger
posed or the unreasonable risk of injury to health or environment. Two major concerns
are addressed in the discharge of drilling drilling fluids: Short term lethal response to
organisms (LC50) or alteration of the ecosystem; and accumulation of organic
compounds and metals which contribute to toxic effects in organism or travel up the food
chain via bioaccumulation. Toxicity refers to the effect caused by a chemical or effluents
on a test population of organisms

Toxicity components in Drilling Fluids

Because formulations for mud additives are continually undergoing change, the drilling
representative should be aware of certain additives that are considered toxic. EPA
(Environmental pollution agency) priority pollutants include variation trade metals; Zinc,
Chromium, Lead, Mercury, Cadmium, Nickel, Asbestos, and various phenol compounds.
Chromium is highly controversial issue; the EPA defines toxic chrome as Cr+6 but in
drilling fluids, chrome exist in trivalent state Cr+3 (chrome lignite and chrome
lignosulphate are additives that contain chrome in trivalent state.

Aromatic hydrocarbons are among the most toxic to marine organisms and destructive to
soils and groundwater. Other hydrocarbon products include: asphalt derivatives,
foamers/defoamers, surfactants, emulsifiers and corrosion inhibitors. Below is the
aromatic content of NABFs which determine the toxicity of the fluid in which it is a
continuous phase:
Group I non-aqueous fluids (high aromatic content)
These were the first NABFs used and include diesel and conventional mineral oil based fluids.
They are refined from crude oil and are a non-specific collection of hydrocarbon compounds
including paraffins, olefins and aromatics, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Group
I NABFs are defined by having PAH levels greater than 0.35%
Diesel oil based fluids: The PAH content of diesel-oil fluids is typically in the range of 2-4% and
the aromatic content is up to 25%.
Conventional mineral oil (CMO) based fluids: These were developed as a first step in addressing
the concerns over the potential toxicity of diesel oil-based fluids and to minimize fire and safety
issues. CMOs are manufactured by refining crude oil, with the distillation process controlled to
the extent that total aromatic hydrocarbons are about half that of diesel. The PAH contents are 1-2
%.
Because of concerns about toxicity, diesel-oil cuttings are not discharged.

Group II non-aqueous fluids (medium aromatic content)

These fluids, usually referred to as Low Toxicity Mineral Oil Based Fluids (LTMBF) were
developed as a second step in addressing the concerns over the potential toxicity of diesel-based
fluids. Group II NABFs are also developed from refining crude oil, but the distillation process is
controlled to the extent that total aromatic hydrocarbon concentrations (between 0.5 and 5%) are
less than those of Group I NABFs and PAH content is less than 0.35% but greater than 0.001%.

Group III non-aqueous fluids (low to negligible aromatic content)

These fluids are characterized by PAH contents less than 0.0.001% and total aromatic contents
less than 0.5%. Group III includes synthetic based fluids which are produced by chemical
reactions of relatively pure compounds and can include synthetic hydrocarbons (olefins, paraffin,
and esters). Base fluids derived from highly processed mineral oils using special refining and/or
separation processes (paraffin, enhanced mineral oil based fluid (EMBF), etc) are also included.
In some cases, fluids are blended to attain particular drilling performance conditions.
Synthetic hydrocarbons: Synthetic hydrocarbons are produced solely from the reaction of
specific, purified chemical feedstock as opposed to being distilled or refined from petroleum.
They are generally more stable in troublesome high temperature downhole conditions than the
esters, ethers and acetals, and their rheological properties are more adaptable to deep water
drilling environments. By virtue of the source materials and the manufacturing process, they have
very low total aromatic hydrocarbon and PAH content (<0.001%). The most common synthetic
hydrocarbons are esters, polymerized olefins (linear alpha olefin (LAO), internal olefin (IO)) and
synthetic paraffins.
Highly processed mineral oils: These fluids are produced by refining and/or separation processes
and can have composition and properties similar to those of synthesized paraffins. The composi-
tion of these fluids depends on the feedstock and the refining or separation processes used.
Historically, diesel and mineral oils were the base fluids (together referred to as Group I NABFs)
used in NADFs. The drilling advantages of Group I NABFs can be obtained with the use of the
Group II and Group III NABFs that have technical performance properties and uses similar to
Group I fluids. Group II and III NABFs have lower aromatic content

Treatment and Onshore Disposal of Drilling Fluids and Cuttings

Unlike WBFs, used NADFs are recycled instead of being discharged because of regulatory
requirements and the expense of the fluid.
The components of the solids control system will depend upon the type of drilling fluid used, the
formations being drilled, the available equipment on the rig, and the specific requirements of the
disposal option.
Solids control may involve both primary and secondary treatment steps.
As part of primary treatment, cuttings are first processed through equipment designed to remove
large cuttings and then through a series of shale shakers with sequentially finer mesh sizes,
designed to remove progressively smaller drill cuttings. Shale shakers are the primary solids
control devices. Each stage of the process produces partially dried cuttings and a liquid stream.
Where no secondary treatment is employed, partially dried cuttings output will be disposed of by
the selected option.
Where secondary treatment is used, the partially dried cuttings may be further processed
using specialized equipment commonly called cuttings dryers followed by additional
centrifugal processing. Cuttings dryers sometimes used to process NADF cuttings include
such equipment as specialized shale shakers and centrifuges that apply higher centrifugal
forces than can be developed by conventional shale shakers.

Centrifuges are used to remove particles that can contribute to fines build-up. If the centri fuges
are unable to remove the fines adequately, waste fluid requiring disposal will be generated. The
waste streams from the cuttings dryer and decanting centrifuge are then disposed of using the
selected option.

Onshore Disposal Methods

Cuttings may be processed on the drilling rig, stored, and transported to shore for
disposal. Consequently, there are two components of onshore disposal that must be
considered when evaluating the viability of this option. The first is marine transport (ie
ship-to-shore which is common to all potential onshore disposal options) and

Technique and equipment

In the Onshore Disposal option, cuttings and the associated NADFs are collected on the rig,
stored, and transported to shore for disposal. Onshore the following options may be available:
• Treatment to remove or reduce oil content (eg composting, incineration, thermal desorption)
followed by disposal by land-farming or land filling;
• Re-use as fuel;
• Re-use as construction materials;
• Disposal in landfills without treatment (minimum oil content requirements may require prior
treatment);
• Disposal by land-farming;
• Disposal by injection.
This option is not technically complicated, but it involves a substantial amount of equipment,
effort and cost. This option involves the following steps:

• Cuttings from the shale shakers are stored in storage containers (boxes, bags, or tanks);
• Storage containers are off-loaded by crane to a workboat or other vessel or cuttings may be
pumped by vacuum into tanks on a workboat;
• The vessel transports the cuttings (and containers) to shore;
• Containers are offloaded from the boat to the dock at port;
• As trucks or other ground transport vehicles are available, cuttings (and containers)
are loaded into the trucks; the trucks transport the cuttings to the land disposal or treatment facility;
• Equipment at the facility offloads the cuttings from the trucks, while other equipment may provide further
treatment or manipulation (bulldozers, grinding and slurrification units);
• The treated cuttings may be placed in a landfill and buried, incinerated, spread on land, or injected into a
suitably isolated injection zone;
• Empty containers are transported back to the port by truck and, ultimately, back to the rig by boat.

As indicated by the description above, onshore disposal involves a substantial amount of additional
equipment relative to the Discharge option. On the platform itself, incremental equipment requirements are
primarily limited to storage containers, such as 2-square meter cuttings boxes to hold the cuttings prior to
and during transport. However, this option also involves increased use of existing rig equipment, such as
the crane. If vacuum transfer equipment is used, less lifting will be required.
Off the platform, equipment requirements are substantial. These include rental of one or more dedicated
boats (or barges), use of port facilities, rental of trucks, and use of equipment at the disposal facility. If
injection is involved, grinding, slurrification, and pumps for injection will be required at the site.

Once onshore, there are a number of options for treatment/disposal of cuttings.

Disposal options include injection, land-spreading, land-farming, and land-fill disposal. If necessary or
optimal, cuttings may be treated prior to disposal biologically (by for example composting) or thermally
(thermal desorption or incineration). Once treated, the cuttings can be land-filled, land-spread, or re-used
for example in road construction.
Onshore injection is similar in process to that described for offshore injection and requires the
presence of a suitable injection formation with appropriate properties for the disposal and
containment of the cuttings and associated NADFs. In general, containment is more important if
there is potential cross contamination of fresh water aquifers.
Land-spreading: This involves spreading untreated cuttings evenly over an area followed by
mechanical tilling with addition of nutrients, water, air and or oxygen as necessary to stimulate
biodegradation by naturally occurring oil-degrading bacteria. Land-spreading is generally limited
to one application.
Land-farming: This is similar to land-spreading except material is applied several times at the
same location. Depending upon the location of the land-farm, a liner, over liner, and/or sprinkler
system may be required. Both land-spreading and land-farming are more efficient in warm
tropical climates, and may be inapplicable in areas where the ground is frozen part of the year.
Landfills: These are widely used for containing waste. Under this option, cuttings, either treated
or untreated, would be placed in a containment unit with a liner and cover that have been
designed to contain the waste. The ability of the landfill to contain waste will depend upon the
quality of the design and materials, and underlying geological units. Landfills must be continually
maintained and monitored to sustain their effectiveness in containing waste.
Composting: may be an alternative to land-spreading or land-farming in areas where land is
limited and/or in cold climates. Composting is a process in which wastes are mixed with bulking
agents to enhance aeration and microbial numbers. The mixture may be tilled periodically to
increase aeration, and additional nutrients or moisture added as required. As with land-farming,
the primary process acting is biodegradation. With composting, the combination of placing the
material in a pile, and addition of bulking agent result in high temperatures in the pile, which
further increase rates of biodegradation and volatilization. This gives composting an advantage
over land-spreading or land-farming in cold climates. The treated residue requires subsequent
disposal, for example by placement in a landfill. Since the volume and mass of the waste is
increased by addition of the bulking agent, substantially more waste may require disposal unless
the treated material can be land-spread.
Thermal technologies: Part of this technology that have been used to treat wastes include
thermal desorption and incineration. With thermal desorption, the cuttings are placed in a
treatment unit and then heated. The liquids are volatilized and re-condensed back to two phases:
water and NABF. The resulting waste streams are water, oil and solids. The wastewater will
require treatment prior to disposal. The resulting solid residue has essentially no residual
hydrocarbons, but does retain salt and heavy metals, and can be disposed of in a landfill or by
land-spreading, or may be used in road construction. Depending upon the process used, recovered
hydrocarbons can be used as fuel or reused as base fluid in the drilling fluid system.
Incineration involves heating cuttings in direct contact with combustion gases and oxidizing the
hydrocarbons. Solid/ash and vapour phases are generated. The gases produced from this operation
may be passed through an oxidiser, wet scrubber, and bag house before being vented to the
atmosphere. Stabilisation of residual materials may be required prior to disposal to prevent
constituents from leaching into the environment.
Ultimately, once treated, cuttings may be used for construction or other alternative uses. Other
proposed applications include incorporation into roofing tiles, use for landfill or trench cover
(UKOOA, 1999), in road construction or as soil re-conditioner. However for these uses, it is
necessary to remove as much salt as possible.