Supercritical water oxidation of oil-based drill cuttings.
Oil-based drill cuttings (OBDC) are a typical hazardous solid waste that arises from drilling operations in oil and gas fields. The supercritical water oxidation (SCWO) of OBDC was comprehensively investigated in a batch reactor under the conditions of various oxygen coefficients (OC, 1.5-3.5), temperatures (T, 400-500°C) and reaction times (t, 0.5-10min). Preheating experiments indicated that most of the organic compounds in the initial OBDC sample were distributed within gaseous, oil, aqueous and solid phases, with no more than 9.8% of organic compounds converted into inorganic carbon. All tested variables, i.e., OC, T and t, positively affect the transformation of carbon compounds from the oil and solid phases to the aqueous phase and, ultimately, to CO2. Carbon monoxide is the primary stable intermediate. The total organic carbon (TOC) removal efficiency can reach up to 89.2% within 10min at 500°C. Analysis of the reaction pathways suggests both homogeneous and heterogeneous reactions exist in the reactor. The homogeneous reaction is a typical SCWO reaction that is governed by a free radical mechanism, and the heterogeneous reaction is dominated by mass transfer. The information obtained in this study is useful for further investigation and development of hydrothermal treatment procedures for OBDC.
Chongqing Institute of Green and Intelligent Technology (CIGIT), Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chongqing 400714, PR China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, PR China; Key Laboratory of Reservoir Aquatic Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chongqing 400714, PR China.
Zhong
Z
Chen
Chongqing Institute of Green and Intelligent Technology (CIGIT), Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chongqing 400714, PR China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, PR China; Key Laboratory of Reservoir Aquatic Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chongqing 400714, PR China.
Zeliang
Z
Chen
Chongqing Institute of Green and Intelligent Technology (CIGIT), Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chongqing 400714, PR China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, PR China; Key Laboratory of Reservoir Aquatic Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chongqing 400714, PR China.
Fengjun
F
Yin
Chongqing Institute of Green and Intelligent Technology (CIGIT), Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chongqing 400714, PR China; Key Laboratory of Reservoir Aquatic Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chongqing 400714, PR China.
Guangwei
G
Wang
Chongqing Institute of Green and Intelligent Technology (CIGIT), Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chongqing 400714, PR China; Key Laboratory of Reservoir Aquatic Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chongqing 400714, PR China.
Hongzhen
H
Chen
Chongqing Institute for Food and Drug Control, Chongqing 401120, PR China.
Chunlan
C
He
Chongqing Institute of Green and Intelligent Technology (CIGIT), Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chongqing 400714, PR China; Key Laboratory of Reservoir Aquatic Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chongqing 400714, PR China. Electronic address: xuyuanjian@cigit.ac.cn.
Yuanjian
Y
Xu
Operating parameters; Organic solid waste; Reaction pathways; Supercritical water oxidation