Experimental study on the electrosorption selectivity of solid particles in waste water based drilling fluid

Waste water base drilling fluid is one of the main wastes generated in the process of oil and gas exploration and development, and increasing its reclamation and reuse rate is urgent for drilling waste treatment technologies. In order to provide a reliable basis for the development of the electrosorption based waste drilling fluid reclamation and reuse technology and the upgrading of the experimental device, this paper carried out experimental study on the selective removal of solid particles from waste drilling fluid through dynamic simulation electrosorption by using the self-made experimental device for dynamic electrosorption of waste water based drilling fluid. The electrosorption effects on the cuttings particles in the waste drilling fluid were observed and the operation stability and applicability of the device were evaluated. It is indicated that electrochemical adsorption has the selective adsorption effect on the cuttings particles in bentonite drilling fluid, and especially significant on the particles smaller than 30 μm. What’s more, it doesn’t have great effect on the rheological property and bentonite equivalent of bentonite drilling fluid. Therefore, it maintains the stability of bentonite drilling fluid while effectively eliminating poor solids from the drilling fluid, so that the reuse indicator of drilling fluid is improve. Obviously, electrochemical adsorption is an effective means to improve the recycling and resource utilization rate of waste water based drilling fluid.