Use of Oil-Based Mud Cutting Waste in Cement Clinker Manufacturing

Oil-based Mud (OBM) cutting waste is generated during the process of oil well drilling. The drilled rocks are removed from deep within the drilled well and pumped to the surface. The portion removed , known at "cutting", is a mixture of rocks, mud, water and oil. Most drilling companies store this waste in open yards with no specific treatment solution. The environmental regulations in Oman specify that storage should involve isolation, to prevent penetration of the contamination to the surface and underground water. This has made OBM waste an environmental problem, with an associated cost for oil companies. OBM chemical analysis shows an interesting compositionthat may be used in cement manufacture. It has high calcium, silicon and aluminium contents, which are the major oxides in cement manufacture. Also the oil contents are useful for reducing the fuel used during the calcining and clinkerization process. In this research, the OBM waste has been analysed and used as a constituent of the raw meal for cement clinker production. The impact of OBM addition on the resultant clinker has also been investigated

Sudden Cardiac Death in Patients Under 49 Years Including Adolescents: A single-centre study from Oman

Objectives: This study aimed to identify the incidence of sudden cardiac death (SCD0 in adult patients under the age of 49 years, including adolescents with an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest that presented to the emergency department of a tertiary care hospital. Methods: This retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted at the Royal Hospital, Muscat, Oman, between January 2015 and December 2019. All patients with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest were enrolled. The incidence of SCD was evaluated. Information about the patient's demographic data, the site of cardiac arrest, the mode of arrival, the duration of pre-arrest symptoms and if cardiopulmonary resuscitation was performed was gathered. Survival data at 3-year follow-up was obtained. Results: A total of 117 out of 769 (15%) patients met the criteria for SCD. Male gender was predominant, with a median age of 33 years. In about 79.5% of the patients, cardiac arrest was witnessed. Only 43 patients (36.8%) received cardiopulmonary resuscitation at the arrest site; 21 patients (17.9%) had a shockable rhythm and 96 patients (82.1%) had a non-shockable rhythm. Spontaneous circulation was returned in 15 patients (12.8%). Nine patients (7.7%) were discharged from the hospital and 8 (6.8%) survived at least 36 months. Conclusion: The study findings indicate the prevalence of SCD among patients who experienced a cardiac arrest outside the hospital. Unfortunately, only a small number of patients were able to survive in the long term. By implementing preemptive screening for individuals and their families, it may be possible to prevent SCD and improve outcomes for those affected. Keywords: Death, Sudden, Cardiac; Epidemiology; Etiology; Risk Factors; Incidence; Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation; Retrospective Studies; Oman

The use of oil-based mud cuttings as an alternative raw material to produce high sulfate-resistant oil well cement

Oil-based mud (OBM) is used during the oil well drilling processes to cool drilling pits and remove the cuttings. As a result of these processes, the oil-based mud (OBM) cuttings are produced. The composition of the OBM cuttings depends on the geological conditions of the boreholes and the OBM used during the drilling operation. In this study, the OBM cuttings were used as an alternative material to produce a special cement known as oil-well cement (OWC). Raw meal mixtures were prepared with various percentages of OBM cuttings (5, 11, 13, 15, 18, and 20%). Then they were sintered up to a temperature of 1450 °C, and the resulting cement clinker was ground to produce highly sulfate resistant OWC. The burnability of the raw meal was studied to explore the effect of OBM cuttings on raw meal behavior during the clinkerization process. The results of the study indicated a decrease in the decarbonation temperature and an increase in the rate of clinkerization as the OBM cuttings increased. The produced cement was tested per American Petroleum Institute’s testing procedure for OWC. Also, the cement hydration for 2, 7 and 28 days was carried out to study the behavior of the produced OWC

Oil-Based Mud Cutting as an Additional Raw Material in Clinker Production

Oil-Based Mud (OBM) cutting is a hazardous by-product generated during oil-well drilling. Its chemical composition suggests that it might be suitable as a raw material in cement manufacturing. It is rich in calcium oxide, silica, and aluminium oxide, which are the major oxides in raw materials for cement manufacturing. In this research, OBM cutting is used as a constituent of the raw meal for cement clinker production. Raw meal mixtures were prepared by mixing different ratios of raw materials increasing OBM content. The impact of the addition of OBM cutting on the resulting clinker has been investigated. The results demonstrate that OBM cutting could be recycled in the manufacturing of Portland cement clinker. Clinker prepared using OBM cutting had very similar properties to that prepared from limestone. This result could represent an opportunity for solving an environmental problem. The addition of OBM cutting lowers the calcination temperature, and increases the rate of carbonate dissociation. However, it also leads to a higher free lime in clinker, which is a result of the presence of trace elements, such as barium. Overall, its use as a raw material in cement production could provide a cost-effective, environment-friendly route for the management of OBM cutting

Development of novel Ag/bauxite nanocomposite as a heterogeneous catalyst for biodiesel production

Ag/bauxite nanocomposites have been prepared using in situ reduction of aqueous AgNO3 solution in a bauxite matrix and investigated for the transesterification of sunflower oil with methanol in order to study their potential as heterogeneous catalysts. The prepared nanocopmosites were characterized by XRD, SEM, EDX, FT-IR, and TG- DTA. The Central Composite Design of the Response Surface Methodology was used to optimize the effect of reaction temperature, reaction time, catalyst loading and methanol to oil molar ratio on the yield of fatty acid methyl esters. The highest yield was obtained at 67 degrees C reaction temperature, 3 h reaction time, 0.3 wt.% catalyst loading and 9:1 methanol to oil molar ratio. Under the optimal conditions, the methyl ester content was 94% and the catalyst successfully reused for at least 7 cycles without significant deactivation. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved