An important aspect of hydrocarbon drilling is the usage of drilling fluids, which remove drill cuttings and stabilize the wellbore to provide better filtration. To stabilize these properties, several additives are used in drilling fluids that provide satisfactory rheological and filtration properties. However, commonly used additives are environmentally hazardous; when drilling fluids are disposed after drilling operations, they are discarded with the drill cuttings and additives into water sources and causes unwanted pollution. Therefore, these additives should be substituted with additives that are environmental friendly and provide superior performance. In this regard, biodegradable additives are required for future research. This review investigates the role of various bio-wastes as potential additives to be used in water-based drilling fluids. Furthermore, utilization of these waste-derived nanomaterials is summarized for rheology and lubricity tests. Finally, sufficient rheological and filtration examinations were carried out on water-based drilling fluids to evaluate the effect of wastes as additives on the performance of drilling fluids.
Keywords: drilling fluids; graphene; nanomaterials; rheological properties; waste derivatives.