Research on treatment of oil-based drill cuttings based on ionic liquids synergistic solvent extraction

Abstract

The method of solvent extraction has a good application prospect in the treatment of oil-based drill cuttings, but the existing extractants have the high potential safety hazards of a low flash point and volatility. Therefore, this article proposes to use an ionic liquid with improved safety and strong extraction capacity to treat oil-based drill cuttings through a collaborative solvent extraction method. The extraction effect of different extractants and different ionic liquid synergistic extractants were studied, respectively. The research results showed that [IM18, H2]Br ionic liquid has a good synergistic effect with n-butanol, and the extraction rate could reach 99.14%. The experimental conditions were that the mass ratio of [IM18, H2]Br to n-butanol was 1:10, extraction time was 40 min, and the mass ratio of drill cuttings to extractant was 1:3. Under these experimental conditions, the mixed extractants can be recycled 3 times. The closed flash point of extractants increased from 35 °C to 53 °C, and the boiling point of extractants decreased from 117 °C to 90–107.3 °C. Based on this, the mechanism of ionic liquids synergistic solvent extraction was discussed.