Feasibility Study of the Potential Use of Drilling Cuttings in Concrete to Reduce Environmental Damage

One of the most important concerns of the drilling industry is reducing the negative impacts of drilling cuttings of oil-gas wells. The increasing growth of the oil industry and drilling of oil and gas wells led to large amounts of drilling waste. In this study, drilling cuttings in concrete as a substitute for part of the cement used in the construction industry has been investigated. In this study, the possibility of using drilling cuttings of formations of Bangistan group, including siltstone and sandstone, in concrete production has been evaluated as a substitute for part of the cement in concrete. For this purpose, laboratory studies have been conducted to quantify the compressive strength of concrete samples. The optimum use of drilling cuttings is 25%, which it reduces the total strength of concrete samples by 34%. In addition, the effect of air ash and silica fume additives on improving the compressive strength of concrete samples containing drilling cuttings has been investigated. The test results showed that the addition of these materials had a significant effect on increasing the compressive strength of concrete samples containing 25% of drilling cuttings so that the lost compressive strength is reduced from 34% to less than 2%.