Every year, in the Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug - where 70% of Russia's oil wells are located, about 5 million cubic meters of man-made waste is generated every year - drill cuttings, the composition of which contains pollutants and has a negative impact on the environment. Scientists at Perm Polytechnic University have developed and patented a new road building material – asphalt concrete, which includes drill cuttings, completely replacing the traditionally used mineral powder. This technology will reduce the production cost of asphalt concrete, thereby reducing the overall cost of road construction.
The study was published in the journal Science Development. You can read about the patent in the link. The technology was developed within the framework of the academic strategic leadership program "Priority-2030". For experimental laboratory studies, the Polytechnic selected four drill cutting samples from West Siberia and Eastern Siberia.
"According to the present invention, for the production of road building materials, there is no need to change the preparation technology of asphalt concrete plant. The mixture is prepared as follows: pre-dried drill cuttings for distribution in the asphalt-concrete mixture are thoroughly mixed with mineral materials - natural sand, crushed stone, and the mixture is then heated to a temperature of 165-175 degrees. After that, the bitumen is added to the mixture and stirred for three minutes in a compulsory mixer at a temperature of 150°C," says Anton Vlasov, a graduate student at the Ministry of Environmental Protection.
The relationship between compressive strength and drill cuttings content
"A distinctive feature of the bitumen we produce is the improved crack and water resistance coefficient, while the material meets the requirements of the code document in terms of operating characteristics and physical and mechanical properties. The technical results are confirmed by GOST-compliant tests," says Larisa Rudakova, researcher at PNRPU's Laboratory for Environmental Management and Nature-like Technologies, Doctor of Technical Sciences and Director of the Department of Environmental Protection.
The appearance of cement soil samples
According to experts, the addition of a hot fine-grained asphalt mixture made from defect-free man-made waste – drill cuttings used as mineral powder – will reduce the cost of asphalt concrete and reduce the negative impact on the environment. Treatment of waste from the petroleum industry – drill cuttings.