Life cycle assessment of low-temperature thermal desorption-based technologies for drill cuttings treatment

Guangji Hu; Huan Liu; Anber Rana; Jianbing Li; Saeed Bikass; Kasun Hewage; Rehan Sadiq

doi:10.1016/j.jhazmat.2020.123865

Life cycle assessment of low-temperature thermal desorption-based technologies for drill cuttings treatment

J Hazard Mater. 2021 Jan 5:401:123865. doi: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2020.123865. Epub 2020 Sep 2.

Authors

Guangji Hu¹, Huan Liu², Anber Rana³, Jianbing Li⁴, Saeed Bikass⁵, Kasun Hewage⁶, Rehan Sadiq⁷

Affiliations

¹ School of Engineering, University of British Columbia, Okanagan, 3333 University Way, Kelowna, BC, V1V 1V7 Canada. Electronic address: guangji.hu@ubc.ca.
² School of Engineering, University of British Columbia, Okanagan, 3333 University Way, Kelowna, BC, V1V 1V7 Canada. Electronic address: huan.liu@ubc.ca.
³ School of Engineering, University of British Columbia, Okanagan, 3333 University Way, Kelowna, BC, V1V 1V7 Canada. Electronic address: anber.rana@alumni.ubc.ca.
⁴ WZU-UNBC Joint Research Institute of Ecology and Environment, Wenzhou University (WZU), Wenzhou, Zhejiang 325035 China; Environmental Engineering Program, University of Northern British Columbia (UNBC), 3333 University Way, Prince George, BC, V2N 4Z9 Canada. Electronic address: jianbing.li@unbc.ca.
⁵ Department of Mechanical and Marine Engineering, Western Norway University of Applied Sciences, Inndalsveien 28, 5063 Bergen, Norway. Electronic address: saeed.bikass@hvl.no.
⁶ School of Engineering, University of British Columbia, Okanagan, 3333 University Way, Kelowna, BC, V1V 1V7 Canada. Electronic address: kasun.hewage@ubc.ca.
⁷ School of Engineering, University of British Columbia, Okanagan, 3333 University Way, Kelowna, BC, V1V 1V7 Canada. Electronic address: rehan.sadiq@ubc.ca.

PMID: 33113751
DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2020.123865

Abstract

The life cycle impacts of treatment of typical oil-based drill cuttings (OBDCs) using three low-temperature thermal desorption (LTTD)-based systems, including thermomechanical cuttings cleaner (TCC), screw-type dryer (STD), and rotary drum dryer (RDD), were explored with a case study in British Columbia, Canada. Two energy supply scenarios, including diesel generator-based onsite (scenario i) and hydropower-based offsite (scenario ii) treatments, were considered in the assessment. The results show that RDD generated the lowest life cycle impacts in terms of damages to human health, ecosystems, and resources in scenario i. TCC-scenario ii generated the lowest impacts among all assessed cases, suggesting that using renewable energy can greatly reduce the impacts of LTTD-based OBDCs treatment. Also, net environmental benefits could be achieved considering the reuse of recovered oil, and the highest net environmental benefits were obtained in TCC-scenario ii. The process contribution analysis found that thermal desorption process accounted for 80-95 % of impacts in almost all impact categories. Energy consumption contours and linear regression models were also developed to help drilling waste managers estimate the life cycle impacts of using hydropower-driven TCC to treat OBDCs with different water and oil contents.

Keywords: Life cycle assessment; Low-temperature thermal desorption; Oil-based drill cuttings; Rotary drum dryer; Screw-type dryer; Thermomechanical cuttings cleaner.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't