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TECHNICAL REPORTS

Waste Management

Soil Properties Affecting Wheat Yields following Drilling-Fluid Application

^a Department of Soil and Crop Science, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523
^b Department of Biosystems Engineering and Environmental Science, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996

^* Corresponding author (Ken.Barbarick{at}colostate.edu)

Received for publication October 12, 2004. Oil and gas drilling operations use drilling fluids (mud) to lubricate the drill bit and stem, transport formation cuttings to the surface, and seal off porous geologic formations. Following completion of the well, waste drilling fluid is often applied to cropland. We studied potential changes in soil compaction as indicated by cone penetration resistance, pH, electrical conductivity (EC_e), sodium adsorption ratio (SAR), extractable soil and total straw and grain trace metal and nutrient concentrations, and winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L. ‘TAM 107’) grain yield following water-based, bentonitic drilling-fluid application (0–94 Mg ha^–1) to field test plots. Three methods of application (normal, splash-plate, and spreader-bar) were used to study compaction effects. We measured increasing SAR, EC_e, and pH with drilling-fluid rates, but not to levels detrimental to crop production. Field measurements revealed significantly higher compaction within areas affected by truck travel, but also not enough to affect crop yield. In three of four site years, neither drilling-fluid rate nor application method affected grain yield. Extractions representing plant availability and plant analyses results indicated that drilling fluid did not significantly increase most trace elements or nutrient concentrations. These results support land application of water-based bentonitic drilling fluids as an acceptable practice on well-drained soils using controlled rates.

Abbreviations: AB-DTPA, ammonium bicarbonate-diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid • CSUCTS, Colorado State University Crops Testing Service • EC_e, electrical conductivity saturated-soil paste extract • ICP–AES, inductively coupled plasma–atomic emission spectrophotoscopy • SAR, sodium adsorption ratio

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JEQ 2005 34: v. [Full Text]