Investigation of methodologies to control dust on county roads in western North Dakota

Funding Sources 50 % from Dunn and Mckenzie Counties 50 % from the Oil and Gas Research Program through the ND Industrial Commission

Problem The volume of traffic involved in the oil field in western North Dakota has surpassed the ability of counties to adequately maintain their roads Dust along county roads is having adverse effects on county residents

Problems with dust Adverse health effects to humans and animals Damage to vegetation Traffic hazard due to poor visibility Increased road maintenance Increased costs Adverse effects on soil and water quality

Current dust control efforts Mckenzie county has active dust control program on 1400 miles of road Annual budget of $1.3 million Dedicated staff just for dust control Dunn County has hired an out of state firm to manage dust on 1200 miles of road Provide dust control for ¼ mile around residence with complaint

Project Process Review available technologies Counties will: select road test segments Select control methods Install control methods Evaluate costs and effectiveness Provide results to all counties

Schedule November 2011: Review available methodologies January 2012: Select road test segments March 2012: Order materials April – July 2012: Install treatments November 2012: Evaluate treatments January 2013: Provide final report

What the Counties Want The “Silver Bullet” Counties are looking for to control dust should: 1.Be easy to handle and apply 2.Provide control for a year 3.Allow the road to be maintained 4.Be cost effective – preferably inexpensive 5.Safe for traffic and the environment

Control methods Water Magnesium chloride Calcium chloride Soil stabilizers Synthetic polymers Enzymes Petroleum emulsions

Control methods Bio – based oils Lignin sulfonate Tall oil pitch Oilfield brine Crude oil Aggregate modification

What we have done so far Reviewed available technologies Selected technologies for further evaluation Identified road test segments Applied 9 dust control products Dunn County – 11 th Street SW Mckenzie County – 154 th Ave

Products Applied Magnesium Chloride Calcium Chloride Durablend – calcium chloride with polymers WISP – synthetic organic oil

Products Applied Rhino Snot – acrylic copolymer Coherex – petroleum emulsion Durabond – lignin with additives Oil field brine Native clay

Products we didn’t try Products the Counties had prior experience with Road stabilization products Very expensive products Difficult to use

What about Crude Oil NDDOT Materials Testing Laboratory Analyzed aggregate from Dunn and Mckenzie Mixed aggregate with 3 different crude oils Bakken Red River Tyler

What about Crude Oil 1% to 2% by weight in gravel aggregate controlled dust At a one inch depth, 1% mix is 40 bbl/mile 3% to 4% by weight was needed in scoria to control dust

What about Crude Oil Aggregate/crude oil samples were analyzed by the ND Department of Health Laboratory Diesel Range Organics from synthetic leach tests were all less than 1.0 ppm

What about Crude Oil Heavier crude oil like the Tyler seems to work better Bakken oil has too many volatile fractions Will do field applications to verify results Testing for contamination in road ditch

What We Have Learned Good gravel is scarce 3 Mckenzie and one Dunn aggregate had no P.I. Scoria creates significant dust Magnesium chloride is chemical of choice

Preliminary Recommendations Counties should include gradation and P.I. specifications when bidding aggregate Scoria should be used only on low traffic volume roads such as drilling pads and site access roads To be effective, dust control products need to penetrate the road surface or be mixed in