Dielectric properties and microwave drying kinetics of drill cuttings contaminated with synthetic drilling fluid

The main objective of the present work was to investigate the microwave drying kinetics of drill cuttings contaminated with an olefin-based fluid in a bench-scale microwave oven. Drying tests were carried out by varying the following parameters: initial olefin content (7.5, 10, and 12.5% in mass), applied power (250, 500, and 750 W), and time (2.5 to 50 min). The dielectric loss tangent, a dielectric property that allows the prediction of sample behavior under microwave irradiation, was also measured. Based on the results, a new semi-empirical kinetic model was proposed: the Modified Model for Microwave Drying (MMMD). This model showed coherence with experimental data and previous studies. Furthermore, trends observed in the model parameters values imply that the MMMD may be used to predict drying rates for conditions other than those adopted. The coefficients of determination (R-2) of the curves obtained using the proposed kinetic model ranged from 0.984 to 0.998.