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PAH Composition of Water Based Drilling Mud and Drill Cuttings in the Offshore Region, East Coast of India

Bulletin of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology volume 87, Article number: 550 (2011) Cite this article

Abstract

As a consequence of offshore drilling, used Water Based Drilling Muds (WBMs) are typically disposed off, by discharging into the sea; such a disposal does not fully eliminate the environmental hazards. Hence, in this study, 2, 3, 4 and 5 ringed polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs i.e. naphthalene, fluorene, phenanthrene, fluoranthene, chrysene and benzo (a) pyrene) were determined from the WBMs and associated drill cuttings obtained from varying depths(viz. 150, 300 and 600 m) from three offshore wells present in East coast of India. In both WBMs and drill cuttings, concentration of naphthalene was maximum i.e. 81.59 ± 2.73 and 39.87 ± 2.40 mg/kg respectively, while benzo (a) pyrene was minimum i.e. 0.19 ± 0.07 and 0.12 ± 0.03 mg/kg respectively. The WBMs contained significantly (p < 0.05) higher PAH concentration than drill cuttings. The individual PAH concentration significantly (p < 0.01) increased with increasing depth in each well.

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Acknowledgments

The authors are extremely thankful to Director, NEERI for providing the necessary facilities for carrying out this research work and DataSol Consultancy, for guidance in statistical analysis of data and editing of manuscript.

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Affiliations

  1. EIRA Division, National Environmental Engineering Research Institute, Nagpur, 440020, India

    Devaanshi Jagwani & Dilip S. Ramteke

  2. DataSol Consultancy, 44-A, Hill Road, Nagpur, India

    Atul Kulkarni

  3. Laboratory at Ramky Enviro Engineers Ltd., Indore, India

    Parth Shukla

  4. Department of Chemistry, RTMNU, Nagpur, 440033, India

    Harjeet D. Juneja

  5. Department of Chemistry, Medi-Caps Group of Institutions, A.B Road, Pigdamber, Rau, Indore, 453331, India

    Devaanshi Jagwani

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  1. Devaanshi Jagwani
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  2. Atul Kulkarni
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Correspondence to Devaanshi Jagwani.

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Jagwani, D., Kulkarni, A., Shukla, P. et al. PAH Composition of Water Based Drilling Mud and Drill Cuttings in the Offshore Region, East Coast of India. Bull Environ Contam Toxicol 87, 550 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00128-011-0340-x

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Keywords

  • Water based drilling muds
  • Drill cuttings
  • Disposal
  • Environmental hazards
  • Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons