Interfacial Behaviour and Compatibility of Synthetic Oil Based Mud with Ionic Liquids

Waste management is a sustainable development issue globally as valuable materials that are yet to be discovered are limited by waste treatment infrastructure. Drilling wastes are toxic due to heavy metals and hydrocarbons in the mixture, thus categorised as hazardous. Novel options must be investigated to explore the recovery of the hydrocarbons despite other established treatment methods. Hence, this study investigates the interfacial behaviour and compatibility of unused drilling fluid in the synthesised 1-propyl-3-methylimidazolium bromide ionic liquid (propyIMIMBr-IL). The findings reveal that the unused drilling fluid and ionic liquids give a heterogeneous mixture that separates into an upper oil layer and a lower ionic liquid for recovery and characterisation by the Fourier-transformed infrared (FTIR). This recovery of drilling fluid from ionic liquid and drilling fluid simulated mixture is a process that can be advanced during drilling waste management to study the chemical reactions and maximise the recovery potentials of propyIMIMBr-IL.