Abstract
Over the years, the oil industries have avoided aromatic, naphthenic, and paraffinic oils as drilling mud base fluids principally because of their detrimental environmental issues on pelagic and benthic marine ecosystems as a result of their toxicity and nonbiodegradability coupled with the possible deterioration of the oil itself and the rubber parts of the drilling equipment because the aromatic hydrocarbons present in the oil have a tendency to dissolve/damage elastomers present in rubber. Hence, possible insights into how to chemically and/or physically produce synthetic base drilling fluids whose cuttings are nontoxic, readily biodegradable, environmentally friendly, and of nonpetroleum source become imperative. In this study, enzymatic interesterification of canola oil was done with ethanol by using enzyme lipase as catalyst under optimum conditions of temperature and pressure and the physicochemical properties of the produced ester were evaluated and compared with that of diesel and a synthetic hydrocarbon base fluid (SHBF). Results show that the specific gravity, kinematic viscosity, dynamic viscosity, and surface tension of canola oil were reduced by 5.50%, 94.74%, 95.03%, and 9.38%, respectively, upon enzymatic interesterification to conform to standard requirements. Similarly, increased |mud ability to pump fluids and possibility of cold temperature environment can be achieved with the reduction in pour point and cloud point, respectively, of the produced canola oil ester. Finally, the produced ester showed no aromatic content as confirmed from its FTIR analysis which indicates its nontoxicity, biodegradability, and environmental friendliness.
Highlights
Drilling fluids are complex fluid mixtures which are principally formulated to carry cuttings from beneath the bit, transport them up the annulus and permit their separation at the surface, and prevent the inflow of formation fluids from the permeable rock that is being penetrated and to form a thin, low-permeability filter cake which seals pores and other openings in formations penetrated by the bit.e oil industry started with water base fluids but because of formation clays that react, swell, or slough after exposure to water-based mud coupled with the need to penetrate a hole with high temperature, a shift to dieselbased mud began in 1960s [1]
E oil industry started with water base fluids but because of formation clays that react, swell, or slough after exposure to water-based mud coupled with the need to penetrate a hole with high temperature, a shift to dieselbased mud began in 1960s [1]
In order to mitigate the environmental and technical issues associated with dieselbased mud, which include high initial cost per barrel, difficulties in detection of gas kick, high cost of lost circulation, difficulties in keeping the rig clean, and easy deterioration of the rubber part of the drilling equipment; an alternative drilling fluid from nonpetroleum origin becomes imperative
Summary
Drilling fluids are complex fluid mixtures which are principally formulated to carry cuttings from beneath the bit, transport them up the annulus and permit their separation at the surface, and prevent the inflow of formation fluids (oil, gas, and water) from the permeable rock that is being penetrated and to form a thin, low-permeability filter cake which seals pores and other openings in formations penetrated by the bit. Veil et al [11] describe the environmental bene ts of synthetic-based drilling muds to include less waste production from a recyclable product (compared to WBMs); elimination of diesel as a mud base lessens the pollution hazard, improves worker safety through lower toxicity, diminishes irritant properties, and reduces consequent risk (compared to OBMs); increased use of horizontal drilling reduces the areal extent and the environmental impacts of o shore oil and gas operations (compared to WBMs); shortened drilling time results in reduced air emissions from drilling power sources; and improved drilling performance decreases waste-generating incidents, such as pipe stuck in the hole. Aerobic and anaerobic biodegradation rates are greatest for ester SBFs, followed by IOs. Candler et al [14] ranked both aerobic and anaerobic biodegradability of drilling uid base chemicals from most to least biodegradable as esters ≫ LAOs > IOs ≫ PAOs > mineral oil. Environmental authorities of the North Sea countries have hypothesized that rapid degradation will minimize the environmental impacts of SBF cuttings discharge and speeding ecosystem recovery [15]
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