Vertical Cuttings Dryers
High-G vertical basket centrifuges that recover base oil from OBM cuttings and cut oil-on-cuttings to compliance targets.
Vertical cuttings dryers use a high-G rotating basket and a fixed-scraper conveyor to strip base oil off drill cuttings. On oil-based mud operations they are the standard route to hitting oil-on-cuttings discharge limits offshore and to reducing waste tonnage onshore.
Paragon specifies and supplies cuttings dryers as skid-mounted stand-alone units or as part of a fully engineered drilling waste treatment package with feed conveyors, catch tanks and recovered-fluid centrifuges.
How it works
- 1Wet OBM cuttings are fed into the top of a vertically oriented rotating basket, typically at 500–900 RPM.
- 2Centrifugal force throws the cuttings against the perforated basket wall; recovered base oil passes through the screen and drains to the catch tank.
- 3Scraper blades or a fixed comb continuously scrape dewatered cuttings off the basket wall and out through discharge ports.
- 4Recovered fluid is usually polished through a decanter centrifuge before being returned to the active mud system.
Typical specifications
Specifications indicative — actual configuration sized against your specific process.
Typical applications
- Meeting offshore cuttings-discharge limits on OBM operations
- Base fluid recovery to reduce net mud cost per well
- Waste-volume reduction on land drilling programmes
- Pre-treatment ahead of thermal desorption or stabilisation
Selection factors
Feed conditioning is critical
Cuttings dryers hate two things: too wet (they flood) and too dry (they stall). Shale shaker G-force and screen selection upstream directly determines whether the dryer hits target throughput.
Recovered fluid handling matters as much as the dryer
The dryer only strips the fluid off — a decanter centrifuge is normally required downstream to polish the recovered fluid before it re-enters the active mud system. Skip this step and mud properties suffer.
Wear protection on the basket & scrapers
Basket screens and scraper tips are the primary wear items. Specify tungsten-carbide protection on the scrapers and keep a matched spare screen set for every dryer.
“If the cuttings dryer is missing throughput, look upstream first. Nine times out of ten the shakers are running too fine or too high G and the feed is either too dry or too wet.”
Spares we supply
Why Choose Paragon
30+ years of field experience
Our engineers have specified, commissioned and troubleshot equipment on projects across Europe, Africa, the Middle East and the Americas.
Independent technical advice
We are not tied to a single manufacturer — recommendations are driven by fit for your process, not by margin.
Global sourcing network
Trusted OEM and specialist aftermarket suppliers, with dual-sourced wear parts to protect you from lead-time risk.
Delivered ready to work
Inspection, testing, commissioning and technical support included — not left as an afterthought.
Responsive engineering support
One working-day response on technical enquiries, and hands-on troubleshooting when you need it.
Long-term client relationships
Most of our work comes from clients we've supported through multiple projects and equipment life cycles.
Need help specifying a vertical cuttings dryers?
Share your flow rate, feed characteristics and site constraints — our engineers will come back with a concrete configuration and budget within one working day.
Related equipment
Decanter Centrifuges
High-speed decanter centrifuges for barite recovery, fine-solids removal and industrial sludge dewatering.
Shale Shakers
Linear-motion and balanced-elliptical shale shakers for primary cuttings separation on land and offshore drilling operations.
Thermal Desorption Units
Indirect-fired thermal units for oil-on-cuttings remediation, base oil recovery and inert solids production.