Numerical Simulation and Analysis of the Heat and Mass Transfer of Oil-Based Drill Cuttings in a Thermal Desorption Chamber

Abstract

To reveal the coupled heat and mass transfer process during thermal desorption of oil-based drill cuttings, a numerical model of heat and mass transfer was established, which is divided into four components = evaporation. The C language programming catch-up method was used to solve the discrete equation, and the interactive effects of the oil-based drill cuttings’ particle size, water content, oil content, content of light and heavy components in oil, heating temperature, heating time, and other operating parameters on the mass and heat transfer of the oil-based cutting particles were investigated. Results showed that the time at which the center point temperature of oil-based drill cuttings with radius of 1 mm and 5 mm reached 600 °C was 441 s and 63 s, respectively, and the temperature difference between the center and the surface increased with particle size. The desorption process of water, light components, and heavy components was not completed individually but mixed alternately. The duration of each desorption component was closely related to the temperature at the center of the oil-based drill cuttings. The smaller the particle size was, the lower the water and oil contents were, and the higher the heating temperature and time were. These conditions were beneficial to thermal desorption, mass transfer, and heat transfer.