Drilling mud occurs during process and represents a mixture of the drilled rock and fluid of the deposit (oil, gas and other fluids), drilling fluid and further chemical additives. Compo-sition and constituent parts can vary considerably.
In use are water-based-, non-aqueous- and synthetic- drilling fluids, and even gas flushing. The additives in drilling fluids are designed to stabilize the borehole, to avoid infiltration from any fluid outside the borehole and to avoid Blow-Outs, cooling the bit and carrying the drilling cuttings out of the borehole.
Drilling mud has to be handled as waste. It accrues onshore and offshore while drilling. In principle, drilling mud is a mixture of oil, heavy metals, chemical components, lubricants and drilling cuttings / rocks. In the meantime, special companies developed techniques to recycle contaminated drilling mud and produce environment-friendly combustibles. Alternatively a deposal in special drilling mud landfills can be considered.
Therefore, the specific composition of drilling mud is of significant interest for its further handling.