Remediation of oil-based drill cuttings using low-temperature thermal desorption: Performance and kinetics modeling.

A bench-scale apparatus was used for the low-temperature thermal desorption (LTTD) treatment of oil-based drill cuttings (OBDCs). The effects of treatment temperature, treatment duration, sand/OBDCs mixing ratio, and initial oil content on the LTTD treatment performance were investigated. It was found that the petroleum hydrocarbons (PHCs) were barely left in the high-oil-content drill cuttings after LTTD (at 300 °C for 20 min), and thus the overall soil health was improved. The desorption kinetics models of PHCs under various conditions were established, and it was found that the LTTD of OBDCs followed nonlinear least-squares exponential kinetics (adjusted R2 > 0.9). The energy consumption models of LTTD treatment under different temperatures were also developed. The modeling results are of practical guiding significance and useful for designing effective LTTD treatment systems of OBDCs. • Low-temperature thermal desorption (LTTD) was examined to treat drill cuttings. • Kinetics models were developed to study petroleum hydrocarbons (PHCs) desorption. • Energy consumption models of LTTD were established for treatment cost analysis. • Addition of sand to drill cuttings could increase the desorption rate of LTTD. • LTTD enhanced soil health by removing PHCs and increasing phosphorus contents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]