Drilling fluid waste treatment using polysaccharide- grafted copolymers
K. K. Chandan A and G. P. Karmakar A BA Department of Mining Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur 721302, INDIA.
B Corresponding author. Email: gpkarmakar@mining.iitkgp.ac.in
The APPEA Journal 59(1) 34-46 https://doi.org/10.1071/AJ18229
Submitted: 4 December 2018 Accepted: 19 February 2019 Published: 17 June 2019
Abstract
A large amount of drilling fluid waste is produced as effluents during exploration and production of oil and gas. Such effluents need to be treated before their final disposal. Efficient coagulation/flocculation can reduce the total amount of disposed effluent, and both coagulation by inorganic salts and flocculation by synthetic flocculants are found to be very effective. The graft-copolymers-based flocculants were prepared using a potassium persulfate initiator solution made by grafting copolymerisation of polyacrylamide onto polysaccharide backbones (starch, guar gum and amylose) in our laboratory. The synthesised graft copolymers have been characterised using various instrumental methods of analysis. The effects of various synthetic flocculants and their concentrations have been studied in combination with the coagulants on coagulation/flocculation of bentonite-based drilling fluid waste have been studied. The effects of coagulant/flocculant dosage, electrolyte concentration and pH on the degree of flocculation of bentonite-based drilling fluid waste was investigated. It was observed that the increase in coagulant/flocculant dosage reduces the residual turbidity and improves the settling rate of the drilling fluid waste. At higher pH conditions, drilling fluid waste dispersions are highly flocculated and have high settling rates and low supernatant turbidity. The combined effect of salt concentration and coagulant/flocculant dosage improves the overall flocculation efficiency of the system.
Keywords: Bentonite-based drilling fluid waste, coagulation, flocculation, graft copolymerisation, turbidity.
Kunal Kishor Chandan completed his BTech in 2012 in Mechanical Engineering from Bengal College of Engineering and Technology, Durgapur, West Bengal and his MTech in 2014 from the Industrial Engineering Department from the National Institute of Technology, Jamshedpur. He is presently working on his PhD in Petroleum Engineering in the Department of Mining Engineering, IIT Kharagpur. His research is titled ‘Flocculation and Rheological Behaviour of Oilfield Drilling Mud using Polymers’. |
G. P. Karmakar completed his MTechin Petroleum Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) (Indian School of Mines; ISM), Dhanbad, India and his PhD from IIT Kharagpur, India. After starting his career in 1984 at KDMIPE, ONGC, Dehradun, Dr Karmakar worked as a Faculty Member in the Department of Petroleum Engineering in IIT (ISM), Dhanbad, at Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Petroleum Technology, Raebareli and at the School of Petroleum Technology, Pandit Deendayal Petroleum University, Gadhinagar, India. He joined the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, as Total Chair Professor in Petroleum Engineering in the Department of Mining Engineering and is presently working as a Visiting Professor in the same department at the IIT, Kharagpur, India. He is the recipient of a UNESCO Scholarship (Institute of Petroleum and Gas, Ploiesti, Romania); German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) Fellowship (Friedrich Schiller University, Jena, Germany); British Commonwealth Fellowship (Imperial College, London, UK) and DAAD Fellowship (Lübeck University of Applied Sciences, Senftenberg, Germany). Dr Karmakar is a Member of the SPE (USA) and Lifetime Fellow of the Institution of Engineers (India). He is actively engaged in research in the areas of enhanced oil recovery using polymers and oilfield waste treatment using polymers. He has published more than 80 research papers in national and international journals and conferences. Dr Karmakar is a Member of the Technical Editorial Committee, SPE Reservoir Engineering and Evaluation, SPE, USA, and a Member of the Editorial Board, Research and Development in Material Science, Crimson Publishers, USA. |
References
Biswal, D. R., and Singh, R. P. (2006). Flocculation studies based on water‐soluble polymers of grafted carboxymethyl cellulose and polyacrylamide. Journal of Applied Polymer Science 102, 1000–1007.| Flocculation studies based on water‐soluble polymers of grafted carboxymethyl cellulose and polyacrylamide.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Bratby, J. (1980). ‘Coagulation and flocculation. With an emphasis on water and wastewater treatment.’ (Uplands Press Ltd: Croydon).
Greenberg, A. (1999). ‘Standard Method of Examination of Water and Wastewater, 20th ed.’ (American Association of Public Health: Washington DC).
Haut, R. C., Rogers, J. D., McDole, B. W., Burnett, D., and Olatubi, O. (2007). Minimizing Waste during Drilling Operations. In ‘2007 AADE National Technical Conference and Exhibition, Houston, April 10–12 2007’. (AADE: Houston, TX).
Jain, R., Mahto, V., and Mahto, T. K. (2014). Study of the effect of xanthan gum based graft copolymer on water based drilling fluid. Journal of Macromolecular Science Part A 51, 976–982.
| Study of the effect of xanthan gum based graft copolymer on water based drilling fluid.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Jain, R., Paswan, B. K., Mahto, T. K., and Mahto, V. (2017). Study the effect of synthesized graft copolymer on the inhibitive water based drilling fluid system. Egyptian Journal of Petroleum 26, 875–883.
| Study the effect of synthesized graft copolymer on the inhibitive water based drilling fluid system.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Karmakar, G. P. (1994). Flocculation and rheological properties of grafted polysaccharides. Ph.D. Thesis, IIT, Kharagpur, India.
Karmakar, G. P., and Singh, R. P. (1998). Flocculation studies using amylose-grafted polyacrylamide. Colloids and Surfaces. A, Physicochemical and Engineering Aspects 133, 119–124.
| Flocculation studies using amylose-grafted polyacrylamide.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Kolya, H., Sasmal, D., and Tripathy, T. (2017). Novel biodegradable flocculating agents based on grafted starch family for the industrial effluent treatment. Journal of Polymers and the Environment 25, 408–418.
| Novel biodegradable flocculating agents based on grafted starch family for the industrial effluent treatment.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Maia, A. M., Silva, H. V., Curti, P. S., and Balaban, R. C. (2012). Study of the reaction of grafting acrylamide onto xanthan gum. Carbohydrate Polymers 90, 778–783.
| Study of the reaction of grafting acrylamide onto xanthan gum.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | 22840001PubMed |
Nayak, B. R., and Singh, R. P. (2001). Development of graft copolymer flocculating agents based on hydroxypropyl guar gum and acrylamide. Journal of Applied Polymer Science 81, 1776–1785.
| Development of graft copolymer flocculating agents based on hydroxypropyl guar gum and acrylamide.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Ogbeifun, D. E., and Okieimen, F. E. (2004). Synthesis, characterisation and flocculation properties of carboxymethyl cellulose-g acrylamide. Journal of Sciences Islamic Republic of Iran 15, 53–57.
Onwukwe, S. I., and Nwakaudu, M. S. (2012). Drilling wastes generation and management approach. International Journal of Environmental Sciences and Development 3, 252–257.
| Drilling wastes generation and management approach.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Pal, S., Mal, D., and Singh, R. P. (2005). Cationic starch: an effective flocculating agent. Carbohydrate Polymers 59, 417–423.
| Cationic starch: an effective flocculating agent.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Pal, S., Mal, D., and Singh, R. P. (2006). Synthesis, characterization and flocculation characteristics of cationic glycogen: a novel polymeric flocculant. Colloids and Surfaces. A, Physicochemical and Engineering Aspects 289, 193–199.
| Synthesis, characterization and flocculation characteristics of cationic glycogen: a novel polymeric flocculant.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Pal, S., Mal, D., and Singh, R. P. (2008). Characterization of cationic starch: An efficient flocculating agent. Journal of Applied Polymer Science 108, 2674–2681.
| Characterization of cationic starch: An efficient flocculating agent.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Pal, S., Ghorai, S., Dash, M. K., Ghosh, S., and Udayabhanu, G. (2011). Flocculation properties of polyacrylamide grafted carboxymethyl guar gum (CMG-g-PAM) synthesised by conventional and microwave assisted method. Journal of Hazardous Materials 192, 1580–1588.
| Flocculation properties of polyacrylamide grafted carboxymethyl guar gum (CMG-g-PAM) synthesised by conventional and microwave assisted method.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | 21802849PubMed |
Pandey, S., and Mishra, S. B. (2011). Graft copolymerization of ethylacrylate onto xanthan gum, using potassium peroxydisulfate as an initiator. International Journal of Biological Macromolecules 49, 527–535.
| Graft copolymerization of ethylacrylate onto xanthan gum, using potassium peroxydisulfate as an initiator.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | 21693131PubMed |
Rath, S. K., and Singh, R. P. (1997). Flocculation characteristics of grafted and ungrafted starch, amylose, and amylopectin. Journal of Applied Polymer Science 66, 1721–1729.
| Flocculation characteristics of grafted and ungrafted starch, amylose, and amylopectin.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Shon, C. S., Estakhri, C. K., Lee, D., and Zhang, D. (2016). Evaluating feasibility of modified drilling waste materials in flexible base course construction. Construction & Building Materials 116, 79–86.
| Evaluating feasibility of modified drilling waste materials in flexible base course construction.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Singh, R. P., Karmakar, G. P., Rath, S. K., Karmakar, N. C., Pandey, S. R., Tripathy, T., Panda, J., Kanan, K., Jain, S. K., and Lan, N. T. (2000). Biodegradable drag reducing agents and flocculants based on polysaccharides: materials and applications. Polymer Engineering and Science 40, 46–60.
| Biodegradable drag reducing agents and flocculants based on polysaccharides: materials and applications.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Singh, R. P., Nayak, B. R., Biswal, D. R., Tripathy, T., and Banik, K. (2003). Biobased polymeric flocculants for industrial effluent treatment. Materials Research Innovations 7, 331–340.
| Biobased polymeric flocculants for industrial effluent treatment.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Singh, R. P., Pal, S., Krishnamoorthy, S., Adhikary, P., and Ali, S. A. (2009). High-technology materials based on modified polysaccharides. Pure and Applied Chemistry 81, 525–547.
| High-technology materials based on modified polysaccharides.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Singh, R. P., Pal, S., and Ali, S. A. (2014). Novel biodegradable polymeric flocculants based on cationic polysaccharides. Advanced Materials Letters 5, 24–30.
| Novel biodegradable polymeric flocculants based on cationic polysaccharides.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Soliman, E. A., Mansour, E. S. M. E. S., Hassan, H. A. M., and Hassan, N. A. M. (2014). Optimization of Graft Polymerization and Performance of Carboxymethyl Chitosan/Polyacrylamide Flocculants. Journal of Research & Developments in Chemistry 2014, 1–18.
| Optimization of Graft Polymerization and Performance of Carboxymethyl Chitosan/Polyacrylamide Flocculants.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Tripathy, T., Pandey, S. R., Karmakar, N. C., Bhagat, R. P., and Singh, R. P. (1999). Novel flocculating agent based on sodium alginate and acrylamide. European Polymer Journal 35, 2057–2072.
| Novel flocculating agent based on sodium alginate and acrylamide.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Tripathy, T., Karmakar, N. C., and Singh, R. P. (2000). Grafted CMC and sodium alginate: A comparison in their flocculation performance. International Journal of Polymeric Materials 46, 81–93.
| Grafted CMC and sodium alginate: A comparison in their flocculation performance.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Tripathy, T., Bhagat, R. P., and Singh, R. P. (2001). The flocculation performance of grafted sodium alginate and other polymeric flocculants in relation to iron ore slime suspension. European Polymer Journal 37, 125–130.
| The flocculation performance of grafted sodium alginate and other polymeric flocculants in relation to iron ore slime suspension.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Zou, J., Zhu, H., Wang, F., Sui, H., and Fan, J. (2011). Preparation of a new inorganic–organic composite flocculant used in solid–liquid separation for waste drilling fluid. Chemical Engineering Journal 171, 350–356.
| Preparation of a new inorganic–organic composite flocculant used in solid–liquid separation for waste drilling fluid.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
