Dielectric properties and microwave drying kinetics of drill cuttings contaminated with synthetic drilling fluid

Abstract

The main objective of the present work was to investigate the microwave drying kinetics of drill cuttings contaminated with an olefin-based fluid in a bench-scale microwave oven. Drying tests were carried out by varying the following parameters: initial olefin content (7.5, 10, and 12.5% in mass), applied power (250, 500, and 750 W), and time (2.5 to 50 min). The dielectric loss tangent, a dielectric property that allows the prediction of sample behavior under microwave irradiation, was also measured. Based on the results, a new semi-empirical kinetic model was proposed: the Modified Model for Microwave Drying (MMMD). This model showed coherence with experimental data and previous studies. Furthermore, trends observed in the model parameters values imply that the MMMD may be used to predict drying rates for conditions other than those adopted. The coefficients of determination (R²) of the curves obtained using the proposed kinetic model ranged from 0.984 to 0.998.

Keywords:

• Drill cuttings decontamination
• internal olefin
• drying kinetic model
• dielectric loss tangent
• specific energy

Acknowledgments

The authors are grateful for the technical support of the Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES), the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq) and Petrobras S.A.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

Ana Carolina Silva Mota is currently a Doctoral student in the Chemical Engineering Faculty at the Federal University of Uberlândia, Brazil, where she researches the microwave drying of drill cuttings. She holds a Bachelor degree in Chemical Engineering from the Federal University of Minas Gerais and a Master’s degree in Chemical Engineering from the Federal University of Uberlândia. The researcher also has experience in pyrolysis, polymers and emulsions.

Jéssika Marina dos Santos holds a Bachelor’s degree (2011), a Master’s degree (2014) and a Doctorate degree (2018) in Chemical Engineering from the Federal University of Uberlândia. She has experience in Chemical Engineering and Industrial Processes, working mainly on the following topics: drying of drill cuttings by microwave application, synthetic drilling fluids and solid control system. The researcher has several articles published in these subjects and, currently, is an Assistant Professor at the Federal University of São João del-Rei, in Brazil.

Arley Silva Rossi graduated in Chemical Engineering at the Federal University of Uberlândia (2007). He holds a Specialization in Natural Gas Distribution at the Federal University of Amazonas (2009), and completed a Master’s (2013), a Doctorate (2017) and a PhD (2018) in Chemical Engineering at the Federal University of Uberlândia. Currently, he is a Professor in the Faculty of Technology at the Federal University of Amazonas, Brazil. The researcher has experience in the following topics: thermodynamics, unitary operations, modeling, simulation and control of chemical processes.

Claudio Roberto Duarte is an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Chemical Engineering at the Federal University of Uberlândia, Brazil, since 2006. He graduated (1999), completed a Master’s (2002) and a Doctorate degree (2006) in Chemical Engineering at the Federal University of Uberlândia. He currently works on the following topics: granulation, rotary drums, mills, drying, pyrolysis, liquid-solid separation, spouted bed, modeling, CFD, pneumatic conveying and DEM simulation applied to rotary drums. He has 57 published articles in journals of importance to the scientific community, 2 book chapters, 13 Master’s Dissertations and 4 Doctoral Thesis oriented or co-oriented already completed

Marina Seixas Pereira is an Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Chemical Engineering at the Federal University of Uberlândia, Brazil, since 2016. She graduated (2008), completed a Master’s (2010) and a Doctorate degree (2013) in Chemical Engineering at the Federal University of Uberlândia. She currently works on the following topics: solid-liquid separation applied to solid control system in the drilling of oil and gas wells and microwave drying. The researcher has several articles published in these subjects and co-orientations of Master Dissertations and Doctoral Thesis in progress.

Carlos Henrique Ataíde is an Associate Professor in the Chemical Engineering Faculty at the Federal University of Uberlândia, Brazil, since 1985. He graduated in Chemical Engineering at the Federal University of Uberlândia in 1981, and completed a Master’s and a Doctorate degree in Chemical Engineering at the University of Campinas, Brazil, in 1985 and 1996, respectively. In addition, he is a senior researcher with experience in Chemical Engineering, with emphasis on Separation and Mixing Operations, working mainly on the following topics: particle and bubble dynamics; fluidized and vibrofluidized beds; pneumatic transport; solid-fluid and liquid-liquid separation applied to mineral processing and solid control system in the drilling of oil and gas wells; drying of fertilizers and drilling cuttings; fast pyrolysis of biomass and computational fluid dynamics applied to multiphase flows. The researcher has approximately 90 papers published in important journals, and the number of Master’s dissertations and Doctoral thesis supervised and co-supervised completed are 37 and 24, respectively.

Additional information

Funding

The authors are grateful for the financial support of the Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES) and Petrobras S.A.