Lost Circulation Material Comprising Reclaimed Fiberglass Wind Turbine Blades

Abstract

The present disclosure provides new and innovative lost circulation material that is fabricated from mechanically reducing wind turbine blades to fragments (e.g., fibers, particles, etc.). The lost circulation material includes fibrous materials from one or more wind turbine blades, such as fiberglass, carbon fiber, balsa wood, and resin. The lost circulation material can be used as an additive in drilling mud or cement to treat the problem of lost circulation. In this way, fabricating lost circulation material from wind turbine blades provides safe and permanent disposal of industrial byproducts.

Claims

1. A composition of matter comprising: a plurality of fragments of one or more wind turbine blades comprising: fiberglass of at least one of the one or more wind turbine blades; resin of at least one of the one or more wind turbine blades; carbon fiber of at least one of the one or more wind turbine blades; and balsa wood of at least one of the one or more wind turbine blades, wherein at least some of the plurality of fragments have a transverse dimension within a range of 1 to 2000 microns, inclusive.

2. The composition of matter of claim 1, wherein the plurality of fragments are fibrous.

3. The composition of matter of claim 1, wherein the plurality of fragments are granular.

4. The composition of matter of claim 1, further comprising a dust-reducing additive.

5. The composition of matter of claim 1, wherein the fiberglass of at least one of the one or more wind turbine blades is greater than 90% of the composition of matter by weight.

6. A method of fabricating a lost circulation material comprising: mechanically reducing one or more wind turbine blades to a plurality of fragments, wherein at least some of the plurality of fragments have a transverse dimension within a range of 1 to 2000 microns, inclusive; and sorting the plurality of fragments.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the one or more wind turbine blades includes fiberglass, resin, carbon fiber, and balsa wood.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein mechanically reducing the one or more wind turbine blades includes chopping the one or more wind turbine blades into separate components.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the separate components are fibers and the plurality of fragments are the separate components.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein mechanically reducing the one or more wind turbine blades further includes grinding the separate components into a plurality of particles, and wherein the plurality of fragments are the plurality of particles.

11. The method of claim 6, wherein sorting the plurality of fragments includes removing metallic components from the plurality of fragments, and wherein the metallic components include stone and ferrous material.

12. The method of claim 6, further comprising adding a dust-reducing additive to the plurality of fragments.

13. A method comprising: adding a lost circulation material to liquid drilling fluid or cement to thereby form a mixture, wherein the lost circulation material includes a plurality of fragments comprising: fiberglass of one or more wind turbine blades; resin of one or more wind turbine blades; carbon fiber of one or more wind turbine blades; and balsa wood of one or more wind turbine blades, wherein at least some of the plurality of fragments have a transverse dimension within a range of 1 to 2000 microns, inclusive; and introducing the mixture into a geological formation.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the lost circulation material is added to the liquid drilling fluid or cement in a concentration of 3 to 100 pounds per barrel of oil, inclusive.

15. The method of claim 13, wherein the plurality of fragments are fibrous.

16. The method of claim 13, wherein the plurality of fragments are granular.

17. A method comprising: introducing into a geological formation a mixture that includes a lost circulation material and liquid drilling fluid or cement, wherein the lost circulation material includes a plurality of fragments comprising: fiberglass of one or more wind turbine blades; resin of one or more wind turbine blades; carbon fiber of one or more wind turbine blades; and balsa wood of one or more wind turbine blades, wherein at least some of the plurality of fragments have a transverse dimension within a range of 1 to 2000 microns, inclusive.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the lost circulation material was added to the liquid drilling fluid or cement in a concentration of 3 to 100 pounds per barrel of oil, inclusive.

19. The method of claim 17, wherein the plurality of fragments are fibrous.

20. The method of claim 17, wherein the plurality of fragments are granular.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0015] A further understanding of the nature and advantages of the present disclosure may be realized by reference to the following drawings.

[0016] FIG. 1 illustrates a flow diagram of a method of fabricating and using a lost circulation material, according to an aspect of the present disclosure.

[0017] FIG. 2 is a scanning electron microscope (SEM) image of a surface of an example lost circulation material, according to an aspect of the present disclosure.

[0018] FIG. 3 illustrates a SEM image of a magnified portion of the surface of FIG. 2, according to an aspect of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0019] The detailed description set forth below, in connection with the appended drawings, is intended as a description of various configurations and is not intended to limit the scope of the disclosure. Rather, the detailed description includes specific details for the purpose of providing a thorough understanding of the inventive subject matter. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that these specific details are not required in every case.

[0020] Every year a significant number of wind turbine blades are sent to landfills in the United States as a result of wind turbines being decommissioned at the end of their service life. Primarily constructed of fiberglass and resin, the discarded blades do not readily decompose and represent a considerable volume of waste. As decommissioned wind turbine blades have rapidly accumulated in landfills, due to the blades' large size, landfills have begun to reject decommissioned turbine blades, meaning the only option is to pay to store the blades, which aside from being unsightly, represents thousands of tons of waste which will take centuries to degrade. There is currently no cost-effective way to recycle or reuse decommissioned wind turbine blades in large quantities.

[0021] The present disclosure provides a lost circulation material (e.g., composition of matter) that includes one or more reclaimed wind turbine blades, reduced to fragments of a specific size and consistency. The lost circulation material can be used as an additive to cure formation losses during oil and/or gas drilling operations. In various aspects, the lost circulation material includes fiberglass of one or more wind turbine blades, resin of one or more wind turbine blades, carbon fiber of one or more wind turbine blades, balsa wood of one or more wind turbine blades, and other constituent materials used in wind turbine blade construction. In some aspects, at least a portion of each of at least two of the fiberglass, resin, carbon fiber, balsa wood, or other material may come from the same wind turbine blade.

[0022] In some aspects, at least some of the fragments have a transverse dimension (e.g., a length) within one of the following ranges: 1 to 2000, 1 to 1000, 1 to 750, 1 to 500, 1 to 125, 125 to 2000, 125 to 1000, 125 to 750, 125 to 500, 125 to 250, 250 to 2000, 250 to 1000, 250 to 750, 250 to 500, 500 to 2000, 500 to 1000, 500 to 750 microns (m), inclusive. In some aspects, a mean traverse dimension of the fragments may be 500 m. In some aspects, the fiberglass of the one or more wind turbine blades is greater than 90% of the lost circulation material by weight. In some aspects, the lost circulation material may include a dust-reducing additive.

[0023] FIG. 1 is a flow diagram of a method 100 of fabricating and using a lost circulation material. At 102, a wind turbine blade is mechanically reduced to a plurality of fragments. In various aspects, mechanically reducing the wind turbine blade includes chopping the wind turbine blade into separate components. In some aspects, the separate components may be fibrous and the fibers of the separate components are the plurality of fragments. In such aspects, the fibers of the separate components have a length within one of the following ranges: 1 to 2000, 1 to 1000, 1 to 750, 1 to 500, 1 to 125, 125 to 2000, 125 to 1000, 125 to 750, 125 to 500, 125 to 250, 250 to 2000, 250 to 1000, 250 to 750, 250 to 500, 500 to 2000, 500 to 1000, 500 to 750 microns (m), inclusive. In some aspects, a mean length of the fibers may be 500 m. In some aspects, the fibers may be generated using a shredder, such as a hydraulic shredder. In some aspects, the separate components may be ground into a granular state and the resulting particles are the plurality of fragments. In such aspects, the particles have a transverse dimension within one of the following ranges: 1 to 2000, 1 to 1000, 1 to 750, 1 to 500, 1 to 125, 125 to 2000, 125 to 1000, 125 to 750, 125 to 500, 125 to 250, 250 to 2000, 250 to 1000, 250 to 750, 250 to 500, 500 to 2000, 500 to 1000, 500 to 750 microns (m), inclusive. In some aspects, a mean traverse dimension of the particles may be 500 m. In various aspects, the wind turbine blade may be ground into the plurality of fragments without first chopping the blade into separate components.

[0024] At 104, the plurality of fragments are sorted. For example, the plurality of fragments may be sorted by size, including by one or more screens possessing openings with a desired dimension from one location defining the respective opening to another location defining the respective opening. In this example, the sorting process allows the particle size distribution of the final product to be adjusted based on the geometry of the formation pore throats themselves. Particle size distribution of the product is expressed in terms of percentiles, in which d.sub.10 represents the particle size (in microns) below which 10% of the product volume falls, d.sub.50, which represents the particle size below which 50% of the product volume falls, and d.sub.90, which represents the particle size below which 90% of the product volume falls. A narrow particle size distribution (a small size variation between d.sub.10 and d.sub.90) may be preferrable when attempting to heal a formation of known pore throat sizes, whereas a broad distribution may be preferrable when formation data is unavailable.

[0025] In another example, the plurality of fragments may be sorted to remove metallic constituents that could interfere with downhole electronics or plug downhole tools. For instance, the metallic constituents may include stone, ferrous, and other metallic material. With the plurality of fragments sorted, the lost circulation material is fabricated. Fabricating the lost circulation material therefore includes 102 and 104. In some aspects, the lost circulation material may be treated with resin, water, or other liquid additives to reduce the amount of dust created while handling, thereby reducing health hazards.

[0026] At 106, the lost circulation material can then be mixed with drilling fluid (e.g., mud) and/or cement. In various aspects, the lost circulation material is added to the liquid drilling fluid and/or cement in a concentration of 3 to 100 pounds per barrel of oil (lb/bbl), inclusive. In an example, the lost circulation material can be used in background concentrations closer to the lower end of 3 lb/bbl or as part of an LCM pill with concentrations closer to the higher end of 100 lb/bbl.

[0027] At 108, the mixture of the liquid drilling fluid or cement with the added lost circulation material may be introduced into a geological formation (e.g., a well), such as to treat the problem of lost circulation. The mixture can be permanently sequestered in oil wells where the mixture will be behind cement and steel pipe indefinitely.

[0028] FIG. 2 is a SEM image of a surface of an example implementation of the lost circulation material.

[0029] FIG. 3 is a SEM image of a magnified portion of the surface of the lost circulation material shown in FIG. 2. The magnification of FIG. 3 shows the fibrous nature of the lost circulation material in this example.

[0030] The lost circulation material was tested in a permeability plugging apparatus (PPA) to determine the lost circulation material's ability to bridge (e.g., seal) a porous formation, which was represented by a ceramic disc with 190 m average pore throat size. The lost circulation material's ability to bridge (e.g., seal) a simulated fracture, which was represented by a slotted disc with 2 mm slots, was also tested. The PPA test runs were performed with the following base fluids and concentrations: [0031] 12 pound per gallon (ppg) water-based mud (OBM), 25 ppb bentonite, pH of 10, 190 m ceramic disc (control, no LCM); [0032] 12 ppg, water-based mud (WCM), 25 ppb bentonite, pH of 10, 20 ppb LCM concentration, 190 m ceramic disc; [0033] 12 ppg water-based mud, 25 ppb bentonite, pH of 10, 50 ppb LCM concentration, 2 mm slotted disc; [0034] 12 ppg oil-based mud, electrical stability of 500, oil water ratio 80:20, water phase salinity of 250,000 ppm, 190 m ceramic disc (control, no LCM); [0035] 12 ppg oil-based mud, electrical stability of 500, oil water ratio 80:20, water phase salinity of 250,000 ppm, 20 ppb LCM concentration, 190 m ceramic disc; and [0036] 12 ppg oil-based mud, electrical stability of 500, oil water ratio 80:20, water phase salinity of 250,000 ppm, 50 ppb LCM concentration, 2 mm ceramic disc.

[0037] Test conditions were 250 F. and 1000 psi differential pressure to accurately represent downhole conditions. Test results are shown in Table 1 below:

TABLE-US-00001 1 min 7.5 min 30 min Filter Total Static Drilling Filter, Fluid Fluid Fluid Cake, Spurt Fluid Filtration Fluid m Loss, ml Loss, ml Loss, ml mm Loss, ml Loss, ml Rate 12.0 ppg 190 0 80 140 <1 40 280 44 (no LCM) 12.0 ppg 190 0 2 5 18 0 10 2 WBM, 20 ppb 12.0 ppg 2000 0 0 0 0 0 40 2 WBM, 50 slotted ppb 12.0 ppg 190 150 230 230 <1 460 460 0 OBM (no LCM) 12.0 ppg 190 0 0 0 N/A 0 0 0 OBM, 20 ppb 12.0 ppg 2000 0 0 0 N/A 0 0 0 OBM, 50 slotted ppb

[0038] As demonstrated in Table 1, the addition of the lost circulation material reduced fluid loss from 140 to 0 milliliters (ml) in the water-based experiment and from 230 to 0 ml in the oil-based experiment, which demonstrated the lost circulation material's ability to bridge permeable formations as well as induced fractures. Particle size distribution may be tailored to the specific application if the pore throat size of the formation is known. For example, a series of sieves each with a different coarseness may be utilized to accumulate sets of particles with different sizes. When the throat size of the formation pores that the particles are intended to block is known, particles of a particular size can be selected to be used.

[0039] In addition to the test results shown in Table 1, the lost circulation material (LCM) was also subjected to an industry standard mud check to test for undesirable interactions of the LCM with the base fluid. American Petroleum Institute Recommended Practice 13B-1 prescribes tests for physical properties of water-based mud, such as density, rheology, water content, solids content, viscosity, electrical stability, and pH. API RP 13B-2 prescribes similar tests for oil-based mud. Hot rolling describes the process by which the fluid is heated and agitated to simulate downhole conditions and what affect the downhole conditions might have on the chemical and rheological properties of the fluid. The following test runs were performed using both oil and water-based fluids: [0040] 12 ppg water-based fluid (no LCM, control) [0041] 12 ppg water-based fluid (10 ppb LCM) prior to hot rolling [0042] 12 ppg water-based fluid (10 ppb LCM) hot rolled at 150 F. for 16 hours [0043] 12 ppg oil-based fluid (no LCM, control) [0044] 12 ppg oil-based fluid (10 ppb LCM) prior to hot rolling [0045] 12 ppg oil-based fluid (10 ppb LCM) hot rolled at 150 F. for 16 hours

[0046] The rheological properties of the test fluids above are shown in the Table 2 below:

TABLE-US-00002 Oil- Water- based Water based Oil- mud based mud Oil- based (10 ppb Water- mud (10 ppb based mud LCM, based (10 LCM, Measured mud (10 ppb hot mud ppb hot property (control) LCM) rolled) (control) LCM) rolled) 600 rpm reading 30 32 32 71 79 56 @1500 F. 300 rpm reading 15 17 17 64 72 46 @1500 F. 200 rpm reading 9.5 12 12 61 69 41 @1500 F. 100 rpm reading 6 8 8 59 64 36 @1500 F. 6 rpm reading 1.5 4 4 45 43 34 @1500 F. 3 rpm reading 1 3 3 31 29 25 @1500 F. Plastic 15 15 15 7 7 10 Viscosity (cp) Yield Point 0 2 2 57 65 36 (lb/100 sq ft) 10 Second Gel 2 3 3 43 43 32 10 Minute Gel 7 3 3 24 24 22

[0047] The test data above demonstrate that the addition of the lost circulation material does not significantly affect rheological properties in a way that might affect operations, such as would an overly thick mud that becomes difficult to pump or a mud that is too thin to suspend cuttings.

[0048] As part of the API RP 13B-2 test specific to oil-based fluids, the fluid mixtures of mud and lost circulation material were tested for how the lost circulation material affects emulsion stability, which is the measure of the amount of current required (in volts) to break an oil-water emulsion. A significant reduction in electrical stability would be seen as undesirable, as a weakly-emulsified drilling fluid would be prone to breaking and separating into two phases of oil and water, leading to undesirable outcomes such as fluid loss into the formation, shale hydration, corrosion, etc. The mixtures of mud and the lost circulation material presented only a minor reduction in electrical stability.

TABLE-US-00003 Oil-based Oil-based Oil-based mud (10 mud mud (10 ppb LCM, (control) ppb LCM) hot rolled) Electrical 381 356 356 Stability (volts)

[0049] The above specification and examples provide a complete description of the structure and use of illustrative embodiments. Although certain embodiments have been described above with a certain degree of particularity, or with reference to one or more individual embodiments, those skilled in the art could make numerous alterations to the disclosed embodiments without departing from the scope of this invention. As such, the various illustrative embodiments of the products, systems, and methods are not intended to be limited to the particular forms disclosed. Rather, they include all modifications and alternatives falling within the scope of the claims, and embodiments other than the one shown may include some or all of the features of the depicted embodiment. For example, elements may be omitted or combined as a unitary structure, and/or connections may be substituted. Further, where appropriate, aspects of any of the examples described above may be combined with aspects of any of the other examples described to form further examples having comparable or different properties and/or functions, and addressing the same or different problems. Similarly, it will be understood that the benefits and advantages described above may relate to one embodiment or may relate to several embodiments.

[0050] The claims are not intended to include, and should not be interpreted to include. means-plus-or step-plus-function limitations, unless such a limitation is explicitly recited in a given claim using the phrase(s) means for or step for, respectively.