Methods for producing and employing oil and gas well drilling and completion fluids as well as hydraulic fracturing fluids employing triglyceride processing by products and propylene glycol recovered from aircraft deicing operations

A method for producing water-based oil and gas well drilling or completion fluids, said process comprising:

• (a) distillation of a crude glycerin stream selected from the group consisting of transesterification crude glycerin, neutralized transesterification crude glycerin, hydrolysis crude glycerin, saponification crude glycerin and mixtures thereof, said distillation producing a bottoms product comprising at least approximately 7% of the glycerin contained in the crude glycerin stream, and one or more overhead products consisting essentially of glycerin and optionally water and,
• (b) adding to at least a portion of said bottoms product one or more components selected from the group consisting of glycol, methyl glucoside, polyglycerine, inorganic salts, lubricants, gelling agents, methyl cellulose, corrosion inhibitors, weighting agents, water and mixtures of any of the foregoing,
• (c) optionally, prior to step (b), adding water to said bottoms product and processing it by ultrafiltration to remove at least a portion of organic impurities having higher molecular weights than glycerin.