Mahmoud Ahmed Abdulhamid
Department of Petroleum Engineering, King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals, 31261 Dhahran, Saudi Arabia.
Center for Integrative Petroleum Research, King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals, 31261 Dhahran, Saudi Arabia.
ACS Omega. 2025 May 12;10(20):20286-20298. doi: 10.1021/acsomega.4c11601. eCollection 2025 May 27.
Sustainability of well cementing operations is a growing concern due to the high carbon footprint of Class G cement production. This study investigates the feasibility of using red mud, an industrial by-product of alumina manufacturing, as a partial replacement for Class G cement in surface casing cementing. A series of laboratory experiments was conducted to evaluate the mechanical, rheological, and performance characteristics of red mud-based cement slurries. The tests included compressive strength, plastic viscosity, yield point, gel strength, 3-rpm reading, free water content, fluid loss, and thickening time. A comparison of red mud-cement blends to a conventional Class G cement slurry was also considered in this study. The results demonstrated that the incorporation of red mud in a concentration of more than 15% resulted in crack development on the outer surface of the samples with time, and also the sample with 50% red mud showed a very high plastic viscosity, which makes it unpumpable. Red mud incorporation significantly reduced the free water content while maintaining an acceptable compressive strength above the required 700 psi threshold. However, its addition lowered the yield point and gel strength, necessitating viscosifier inclusion to restore suspension capacity. The slurry with 15% red mud showed optimal performance when combined with 0.12% viscosifier, balancing pumpability, stability, and thickening time requirements. The findings highlight that red mud-based cement formulations can provide a sustainable alternative to Class G cement, reducing waste disposal challenges and environmental impact.
由于G级水泥生产的高碳足迹，固井作业的可持续性日益受到关注。本研究调查了将赤泥（氧化铝生产的工业副产品）用作表层套管固井中G级水泥部分替代品的可行性。进行了一系列实验室实验，以评估赤泥基水泥浆的力学、流变学和性能特征。测试包括抗压强度、塑性粘度、屈服点、凝胶强度、3转读数、自由水含量、滤失量和稠化时间。本研究还比较了赤泥-水泥混合物与传统G级水泥浆。结果表明，掺入浓度超过15%的赤泥会导致样品外表面随时间出现裂纹，而且含50%赤泥的样品塑性粘度非常高，无法泵送。掺入赤泥显著降低了自由水含量，同时保持了高于所需700 psi阈值的可接受抗压强度。然而，其添加降低了屈服点和凝胶强度，因此需要加入增稠剂来恢复悬浮能力。含15%赤泥的水泥浆与0.12%增稠剂混合时表现出最佳性能，平衡了泵送性、稳定性和稠化时间要求。研究结果表明，赤泥基水泥配方可以为G级水泥提供可持续的替代品，减少废物处理挑战和环境影响。
