Thibodaux’s Four Aces Logistics, a subsidiary of Onshore Companies of Louisiana, is transforming discarded offshore oilfield drilling risers into an environmentally responsible, cost-effective construction aggregate, reports the Lafourche Gazette.
Marketed as Silverlite, the recycled synthetic aggregate provides a lightweight alternative to traditional materials such as crushed stone, sand and gravel for a variety of civil and marine construction applications.
Offshore drilling risers are critical conduits that connect floating drilling platforms to wellheads on the seafloor. To withstand harsh ocean conditions while maintaining buoyancy, the risers are encased in 75-foot-long buoyancy modules (or floaters) manufactured from ceramics and specialized polymers.
Once an offshore well reaches the end of its productive life, these floaters are removed and typically disposed of in landfills throughout Louisiana. Because the material is non-biodegradable, it occupies valuable landfill space indefinitely. Read more from the Lafourche Gazette.
