Study on the Viability of Using Drill Cuttings from the Potiguar Basin in the Production of Ceramic Products: Influence of Concentration and Firing Temperature

Drill cuttings are wastes produced on a large scale during the drilling of oil wells. Although there are several treatment techniques, there is still no consensus on which one are the best for the economy and environmental. On the other hand, one of the alternatives for the reuse of this waste, and purpose of the present study, is the incorporation of drill cuttings in clay matrixes. The raw materials used in this work, a mixture of clays and drill cuttings, were investigated by two basic techniques of characterization. X-ray fluorescence and X-ray diffraction. In order to evaluate the effect of the content of drill cuttings on the technological properties of sintered ceramics, different formulations containing from 0 wt.% to 100 wt.% of drill cuttings in a clay matrix were obtained. Ceramic samples were obtained by firing at temperatures ranging from 850 °C to 1050 °C. The fired specimens were characterized by water absorption, firing linear shrinkage, resistance to bending three points and scanning electron microscopy analysis. The results indicated that the incorporation of drill cuttings is a viable alternative for the manufacture of several ceramics products, such as solid masonry bricks and ceramic blocks, at certain concentrations and firing temperatures.