Stabilisation/Solidification of Synthetic North Sea Drill Cuttings Containing Oil and Chloride

Title: Stabilisation/Solidification of Synthetic North Sea Drill Cuttings Containing Oil and Chloride
Author(s): Al-Ansary
Paper category : conference
Book title: International RILEM Conference on the Use of Recycled Materials in Building and Structures
Editor(s): E. Vázquez, Ch. F. Hendriks and G.M.T. Janssen
Print-ISBN: 2-912143-52-7
e-ISBN: 2912143756
Publisher: RILEM Publications SARL
Publication year: 2004
Pages: 833 - 842
Total Pages: 10
Nb references: 17
Language: English

Abstract: On the UK Continental Shelf, up to 80,000 tonnes wet weight of oily drill cuttings are
produced annually. These are heterogeneous wastes generated from the petroleum drilling
industry, composed of significant percentages of hydrocarbons, heavy metals and chlorides.
Since 1992, the discharge of drill cuttings containing more than 1% oil-on-cuttings has been
prohibited. Moreover, the extensive increase in tipping fees, imposed by the Landfill Tax in
October 1996, has hindered the landfilling of drill cutting as a viable option. Therefore, drill
cuttings are a big problem for which the petroleum industry is keen to find solutions. This
paper examines the use of stabilisation/solidification (S/S) as a technique to treat North Sea
drill cuttings either as a pre-treatment prior to landfilling or for potential re-uses in
construction products. Given the known difficulties with stabilising/solidifying oils and
chlorides, this paper uses synthetic typical North Sea drill cutting mixes which contain typical
average concentrations of hydrocarbons (4.2% w/w) and chloride (2.03% w/w) only to
compare the ability of the different binder systems to treat them. A number of conventional
S/S binders, namely Portland cement, hydrated lime, pulverised fuel ash and blastfurance
slag, as well as novel binders, namely MgO cements, zeolites, silica fume, cement kiln dust,
and compost were used. The water to dry binder ratio used was 0.4:1 and the dry binder
content by weight was up to 30%. A set of physical tests (unconfined compressive strength),
chemical tests (NRA leachability) and micro-structural examinations (using SEM) were
conducted on the different mixes. The paper presents the behaviour of the various drill
cuttings and binder mixes and compares their relative performance.

Online publication: 2004-09-29
Publication type : full_text
Public price (Euros): 0.00
doi: 10.1617/2912143756.092