Solvent-based washing as a treatment alternative for onshore petroleum drill cuttings in Thailand.

In Thailand, onshore drill cuttings (DC) contaminated with total petroleum hydrocarbon (TPH) are currently transported off-site for incineration, causing high transportation cost and potential leakage to the environment. To address the issues, we develop solvent-based washing as a greener alternative for onshore DC remediation, focusing on solvent selection, washing process optimization, and solvent recovery. The results showed that ethyl lactate (EL) was the best green solvent for DC washing, compared to water, ethylene glycol, and ethyl acetate.

Development of modified airlift reactor (MALR) for improving oxygen transfer: optimize design and operation condition using 'design of experiment' methodology.

Oxygen scarcity may significantly affect the process performance since it has low aqueous solubility and high demand by chemical and biological processes. The oxygen mass transfer is therefore necessary to enhance. This work aimed to develop the gas-liquid reactor, named Modified Airlift Reactor (MALR) for improving the oxygen transfer efficiency in terms of internal configurations and aeration parameters by equipping a vertical baffle for creating liquid circulation phenomena, and installing slanted baffles in the reactor riser to extend air-bubbles retention time and to improve their distributions.

Analysis of cutting-oil emulsion destabilization by aluminum sulfate.

The destabilization mechanism of the high stable cutting-oil emulsion by aluminum sulfate (Al(SO)) was investigated since it can affect properties of aggregates and following separation units. Al(SO) dosage and pH were key factors in the destabilization. The effective separation occurred when precipitated Al(OH) is dominated at the neutral pH of 6.

Comparison of cutting-oil emulsion treatment by electrocoagulation-flotation in bubble column and airlift reactors.

Separation of nanoscale oil droplets in the cutting-oil emulsion by electrocoagulation-flotation (ECF) was carried out in a bubble column reactor (BCR) and an external-loop airlift reactor (ALR). Under the batch operation, aluminium electrode provided the highest efficiency of 99% and required the shortest separating time compared to iron and graphite electrodes. The separation performance was also affected by the electrode gap and current density due to the amount of produced aluminium ions and turbulence by bubble motions.