AndreaBozzo/ceres-open-data-index huggingface dataset:
Effect of mild oxidation on the quality of a shale-oil naphtha fraction

"Green River shale-oil naphtha's have several properties that make them require extensive refining before they can be utilized. These properties include high levels of sulfur, nitrogen, and olefinic compounds. Although Green River shale-oil naphtha is similar in hydrocarbon composition to thermally cracked petroleum naphthas, a higher nitrogen content of the shale-oil naphtha [typically  about 1 weight-percent (1) ) distinguishes it from cracked petroleum naphthas. Another distinguishing characteristic of shale-oil naphtha is its higher reactivity to oxygen compared to thermally cracked petroleum naphthas. In one case, this high reactivity to oxygen was reported  to cause the formation of as much as 10 weight-percent of high-molecular-weight gum containing 7 to 8 weight-percent nitrogen (2). This facile reaction with oxygen, which concentrates nitrogen in easily removable heavy products, suggests that oxidation of shale-oil naphthas might be employed to improve the quality of the naphtha.  To explore this possibility, a fraction boiling at 1400 to 1500 C and selected for its high nitrogen content and instability was distilled from a heavy shale-oil naphtha and portions of this fraction, hereafter called the naphtha fraction, were allowed to react with measured amounts of oxygen under mild conditions. Samples taken during the reactions were separated into gum and volatile material by vacuum distillation and the volatile material, hereafter called oxidized naphtha, was analyzed. The effect of oxidation on nitrogen content and major hydrocarbon groups was assessed. Also the susceptibility of an oxidized naphtha to further oxidation was investigated, and an oxidation experiment was conducted on the naphtha fraction after its nitrogen content was reduced  by silica-gel treatment. This paper describes the results of these experiments."

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Hydrogenating shale oil at low space velocity. [1,000 psig and 781/sup 0/ and 761/sup 0/F]

Crude shale oil prepared by a gas-combustion retorting of Colorado oil shale was hydrogenated over a cobalt molybdate catalyst at an operating pressure of 1000 psig, temperatures of 781 and 761 degrees F, and liquid hourly space velocities of 0.10 and 0.05 Vo/Vc/hr, respectively. The yields of total liquid products and the amounts of nitrogen and sulfur removed were comparable with those obtained at an operating pressure of 3000 psig and a liquid hourly space velocity of 1.0 Vo/Vc/hr. Approximately 1.5 times as much gasoline was produced at the lower pressure and space velocities.

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Geology of eocene rocks and oil yields of Green River oil shales on part of Kinney Rim, Washakie Basin, Wyoming

"Geology and oil-yield data are presented for a 58-square-mile area encompassing the U.S. Department of the Interior oil-shale leasing program tracts in the  western Washakie Basin, Sweetwater County, Wyo. Lithology and oil yields of samples from three Bureau of Mines coreholes are evaluated and correlated with  Kinney Rim surface sections measured and sampled by the U.S. Geological Survey. Minable sections of oil shale averaging up to 25 gallons of oil per ton crop out on Kinney Rim in the Laney Member of the Green River Formation. Thick oil-shale sections in the Laney Member that average 15 gallons per ton represent 155 million barrels of oil in place per square mile. In the lower part of  the Green River Formation the Tipton Shale Member contains a 20- to 40-foot section averaging 15 gallons per ton. Beds of high-volatile C bituminous coal up to 6 feet thick are present in intertongued parts of the lower Green River Formation and upper Wasatch Formation."

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Finite element investigation of thermo-elastic and thermo-plastic consolidation

The transient response of saturated continua due to thermal as well as mechanical loads is investigated in both elastic and plastic ranges. When the two phase saturated media are subjected to thermomechanical loading, the energy equation is coupled with the mass flow and solid deformation equations resulting in the initial boundary value problem of thermal consolidation. The solid behavior may be assumed to be either elastic or elastoplastic leading to the associated theories of thermoelastic and thermoelastoplastic consolidation. The governing equations for the quasi-static infinitesimal theory of thermoelastic consolidation are developed by using the theory of mixtures. An equivalent variational principle is developed along with associated finite element formulations. Two isoparametric elements of the composite type are employed for the spatial discretization. The formulation is extended to the plastic ranges by modeling the solid phase as an elastic work hardening material with an associated flow rule. An incremental iterative scheme is developed to solve this nonlinear transient problem. Several special purpose computer codes are developed for evaluating the isothermal, thermal, elastic and elastoplastic plane strain consolidation responses. These codes have been evaluated against limiting cases available in the literature. The effects of temporal and spatial interpolation schemes are investigated for one-dimensional thermoelastic consolidation problems. An application dealing with a plane strain underground coal gasification problem is also presented.

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Los Alamos National Laboratory Underground Coal Conversion supporting research program. Fiscal Year 1979 annual report

This report summarizes the results of activities in the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) Underground Coal Conversion supporting research program during fiscal year 1979. These activities included static and kinetic drying measurements on New Mexican subbituminous coal, ultimate analysis and gas permeability tests on the same coal type and a theoretical interpretation of subbituminous coal drying data. The relevance and significance of the results are discussed and recommendations for future work are made.

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Characterization and supporting research for in-situ coal-gasification research and development project plan

Underground Coal Gasification (UCG) is an emerging technology with the potential for greatly increasing the usable coal supply in the USA. Of the remaining problems with this technology, perhaps the most significant is the inability to reliably forecast test results. Experience now indicates that to anticipate test results, one must be able to forecast the evolving shape of the underground reaction zone. Further, the most important factors governing this cavity growth may be the initial site and process conditions. This document describes a research plan which is designed to provide the needed UCG characterization in terms of cavity growth as determined by the nature of the UCG site. Laboratory and small-scale field investigations are proposed which should (1) define the characteristics of sites that are suitable for UCG, (2) identify and quantify the key process factors, and (3) develop mathematical models which can be used to forecast site-specific test results. Included in this document are task descriptions and objectives, time scales, and budget estimates. Also, some of the activities described are underway, and pertinent results to date are discussed.

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Pricetown I: Underground coal gasification experiment, Pricetown, West Virginia: Environmental assessment

This document assesses the environmental impacts for the underground or in situ gasification of eastern coal at a selected site near Pricetown, West Virginia. The experiment is being conducted by the US Department of Energy's Morgantown Energy Technology Center (METC) as part of its R and D program to develop the underground coal gasification technology. The METC project is the only US Department of Energy field activity directed toward the development and evaluation of the concept of the underground gasification of eastern bituminous coals.

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Clean Coal Technologies: Current abstracts

Clean Coal Technologies (CCT) announces on a monthly basis the current worldwide information available on all aspects of clean coal, including mechanical coal cleaning, desulfurization, coal gasification liquefaction and pyrolysis, flue gas cleanup, and advanced coal combustion. This publication contains the abstracts of DOE reports, journal articles, conference papers, patents, theses, and monographs added to the Energy Data Base (EDB) during the past month. Also included are US information obtained through acquisition programs or interagency agreements and international information obtained through the International Energy Agency's Energy Technology Data Exchange or government-to-government agreements. The digests in CCT and other citations to information on clean coal back to 1974 are available for on-line searching and retrieval on EDB. Current information, added daily to EDB, is available to DOE and its contractors through the DOE Integrated Technical Information System. Customized profiles can be developed to provide current information to meet each user's needs. The entire Energy Data Base is available on commercial on-line retrieval systems.

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Coals and coal-bearing rocks of the Hanna Coal Field, Wyoming

Renewed interest in Wyoming's vast coal deposits began in the late 1960's as power plant demands for inexpensive, low sulfur coals increased. Because of this demand, Wyoming's coal companies have set new production records every year since 1972. Table 1 summarizes annual production for the last 19 years on a county basis. Wyoming's 1978 tonnage set yet another record at 58.2 million tons. With this tonnage, Wyoming remains the largest coal-producing state in the Rocky Mountains and the fourth largest in the nation. Coal production in Wyoming was dominated by underground mining until 1954. In that year, strip mining tonnage barely exceeded that of the underground mines. Since then, however, strip mining has become the dominant mining method and now accounts for about 99 percent of Wyoming's annual production. Conversely, underground mining has slipped to approximately one percent of the annual tonnage mined. In 1978, twenty-one coal mining companies produced 58.2 million tons of coal. These companies operated 22 strip mines and 3 underground mines.

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Seismic investigations of antrim shale fracturing-ground motion studies

The Dow Chemical Company contract with the Department of Energy to investigate the feasiblity of recovering energy from Antrim shale by an in situ process required the investigation of several fracturing techniques. One of these included the use of explosives detonated in wellbores at a depth of 1200 to 1400 feet. This report summarizes the seismic monitoring of several of these explosions and the analysis of the data obtained.

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Waxes from shale-oil wax distillate. [Methyl ethyl ketone used as solvents]

"This report discusses the waxes made from shale-oil wax distillate, a specific fraction obtained from crude shale oil. The plate wax crystals were exceptionally well suited to solvent extraction. Methyl ethyl ketone was the preferred dewaxing solvent. The quantity of wax recovered at 32 F. was 18.8 percent of the wax distillate, or 6.6 percent of the crude shale oil. The laboratory batch processes used for separating the wax from the distillate and subsequent refining were based upon conventional  petroleum methods. Three grades of shale-oil waxes were made and designated as crude, semirefined, and fully refined. The solvent-extracted wax consisted mainly of paraffin and olefin hydrocarbons. The physical  properties of the fully refined shale-oil wax were the same as or corresponded closely to those of fully refined petroleum paraffin wax. Inasmuch as the crude and semirefined shale-oil waxes can be separated and refined in much the same manner as petroleum waxes, the cost of manufacture should be about equal to that for making petroleum paraffin wax. The cost of making a fully refined shale-oil wax will be somewhat greater than for making a fully refined petroleum paraffin, due to the loss of the olefinic material from the shale-oil wax by acid treatment  and the increased quantity of acid required for its removal.  An analytical method for the determination of wax in shale-oil distillatos, a list of the physical properties that were determined for the waxes, and the method for testing these properties are given in the appendix to this report."

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Prediction of rubble characteristics and flow fields through a porous medium using gaseous tracers:  a feasibility experiment

Results from an extensive series of tracer tests are presented. Nonradioactive tracer gases were injected into a large experimental retort at Laramie, Wyoming. The retort was filled with crushed and screened raw oil shale from the Anvil Points mine. The resulting data were used to study the feasibility of the use of gaseous tracers to characterize modified in situ (MIS) oil shale retorts. The effect of an impermeable cylindrical obstruction within the rubble on the resulting tracer signals was quantified. In addition to the tracer tests, thermal data were obtained from a steam front passed through the retort by the steady-flow addition of a 30 volume percent steam/air mixture. The resulting temperature profile was uniform, indicating a negligible effect of the zero-permeability region on steam sweep efficiency. The tracer signals, however, were slightly affected by the presence of the non-uniformity. In addition, wall effects and local regions of less pronounced non-uniformities were apparent from the tracer responses, but not from the thermal data. This experiment has demonstrated that tracers are effective in determining the existence of permeability contrasts. Further testing on a similar retort, but with a more significant discontinuity (one which would reduce the steam sweep efficiency) is recommended to verify the characterization ability of tracers. This report includes all the data in graphical form as well as a complete summary of the analysis. It constitutes a data base which could be used in future model development and verification of both forward and inverse solutions.

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Proceedings of the ninth annual underground coal gasification symposium

Recent progress on a DOE sponsored program on thermo-mechanical and poro-mechanical investigations associated with UCC is reported. Various model formulations including moving boundary, thermo-elasto-plastic consolidation, and thermo-visco-elastic representations are discussed. Numerical results, employing these specialized finite element codes, are presented for selected field simulations. In addition, a predictive strategy based on experimentally determined overburden material property data is outlined for the design of UCC experiments from a structural vantage point.

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Method for producing retorting channels in shale deposits. [Electropneumatic treatment of lean shale with additional electrochemical treatment for rich shale]

The authors invention is a method for in situ production of retorting channels in oil shale. Electro-pneumatic treatment is used in lean shale. Additional electro-chemical treatment is applied to rich shale. In many respects, both forms of treatment employ similar apparatus.

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Methodology and concepts for the design of surface storage fills at the Anvil Points Oil Shale Retort Facility

Primary obtectives in design of surface disposal fills for processed and raw oil shales are: (a) to insure long-term physical stability, and (b) to prevent surface runoff, surface erosion, and possible subsurface seepage from degrading the water quality of streams and ground water, it was concluded that the analysis and design of spent shale disposal fills should be based on sound geotechnical engineeering principles, considerable experience, and good judgment. An understanding of the source of variability of spent shale materials and its effect on engineering properties is a first step in developing fill design. A second important step is the assessment of long-term changes in the properties of spent shale within a disposal fill. This assessment requires consideration of possible thermal, hydrochemical, and physical interactions within the fill and between the fill and site environment. The site environment is site-specific and depends on the geological, surface and subsurface hydrological, and geotechnical characteristics of the site. The variability of spent shale materials is a direct function of variations in mineral and chemical composition of the raw shale and of the processes applied. Current technology for the design and construction of spent shale disposal fills has not been proven by experience. A major problem is the large quantities of spent shale generated for surface disposal and the lack of available sites other than large gulches in the oil shale country of the western United States. Conceptual research fill designs developed in this study should be refined and constructed to provide needed information on in situ properties and long-term performance. Research fills planned by others should be augmented to obtain needed information, especially for codisposal of spent shales with treated waste water, raw shale fines, and process dust.

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Advanced gasification projects. Third annual contractors'meeting proceedings

On June 28-30, 1983, METC sponsored the Third Annual Advanced Gasification Projects Contractors'Meeting, which was held at Sheraton Lakeview, Morgantown, West Virginia. The purpose of the meeting was threefold: to review the technical progress and current status of DOE's advanced gasification projects; to foster technology exchange among participating researchers; to facilitate interactive dialogues that would identify research needs and aid in planning future advanced gasification research activities. Fifty representatives of government, academia, and industry attended the three-day meeting. Forty-one papers were presented summarizing recent developments in fundamental mechanisms/innovative concepts, modeling, and gas cleanup/waste-water treatment. Scientists, engineers, and administrators discussed many of today's issues that face those engaged in the research and development activities that constitute the advanced gasification program. All papers in this proceeding were processed for inclusion in the Energy Data Base.

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Characterization of a shale oil produced by in situ retorting. [Comparison of properties of oils produced by in-situ and above-ground methods]

"In situ or in place retorting has many potential  advantages over the more conventional mining/  retorting approach. One of the major advantages is that in situ retorting avoids the costly and disfiguring mining and spent-shale disposal steps associated with the mining/retorting approach. Another potential advantage is that it may make it possible to recover oil from formations that are not amenable to the mining/retorting approach. Many investigators have recounted at length the  problems of in situ retorting and Burwell, Sterner, and Carpenter have adequately referenced these investigations. Whereas it is not the purpose of this paper to delve into extended discussion of in situ retorting, it may help the reader to have on idea of the conditions under which in situ oils are produced. This paper will, therefore, describe briefly on situ experiment and a brief description will also be made of each of the retorts that produced the oil, with which the in situ oils will be compared. This paper will describe two crude shale oils that were recovered from successful in situ-combustion  retorting experiments. The description will be based primarily on the results of the application of the Bureau of Mines crude shale-oil analysis to these two crudes. In addition to describing the properties of the two in situ crudes in terms of this analysis, the properties of crude shale oils from aboveground retorts will also be described. Comparison of the oils from the aboveground retorts with each other will be mode in order to determine the effect of change of retorting parameters upon oil character. Comparison of the in situ oils with the aboveground retort oil Is will allow explanation of the retorting conditions under which the in situ oils were produced. This indirect approach to the problem of describing the conditions under which in situ retorting is accomplished is necessary because of the inaccessibility of the retort zone to visual inspection, either during or after retorting."

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Technical considerations for Plowshare applications to oil shale. [Development of Project Bronco]

"Nuclear explosions have been proposed for use in the recovery of oil from deep oil shale deposits. Before commercial feasibility can be established, a variety of technical problems must be examined. Some of these are  related to nuclear explosion effects, others to the recovery of oil from the broken rock. Among the primary areas of interest are fracturing, chimney collapse, rubble size distribution, radioactivity, and retorting methods and  variables. To test the concept, nuclear explosion experiments will be needed. One such experiment, Project Bronco, has been designed in detail, and is used  here to illustrate a possible direction of development. The design is based on the following objectives: to evaluate the overall feasibility of nuclear breaking, followed by in situ retorting; to investigate the gross physical effects of a  nuclear explosion in oil shale, and to assess the role of radioactivity in the production of oil by in situ retorting. The experimental plan provides for the accomplishment of these objectives by appropriate preshot studies, a postshot examination of explosion effects, and  experimental retorting of the nuclear chimney."

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Dawsonite and nahcolite analyses of Green River Formation oil shale sections, Piceance Creek Basin, Colorado. [Also total alumina and oil yields]

Analytical results for nahcolite, dawsonite, total extractable alumina and oil yield are presented for samples representing Green River Formation oil shales in the saline section of two cores from Colorado's Piceance Creek basin.  Analyses are also reported for samples extending the analyzed section of Colorado corehole No. 3 beyond that reported previously.  These data permit evaluation of the deposit for possible production of three coproducts---shale oil, alumina an sodium carbonates--from the saline section of the formation ant these sampled points.

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Oxidation/gasification of carbon residue on retorted oil shale. Final report

Studies of the oxidation and gasification of oil shale char were extended to an investigation of the effects of mineral catalysis. Six shales with differing mineral compositions were studied, including samples from the saline zone in the Western Colorado and from the Antrim shales of Michigan. Oxidation kinetics data, corrected for mass transfer effects, were compared for all six samples. A high assay shale from Utah and a sample from the saline zone were found to have the highest oxidation rates. By examining the data for shales which were water leached and thermally pretreated, it was concluded that both NaO and CaO act as oxidation catalysts. However, as a result of mineral decomposition experiments conducted with a sample from the C-a lease tract, it appears as though the ankeritic dolomite fraction will not decompose as long as there is a minimal CO/sub 2/ over pressure. Rather, low temperature silication reactions appear to take place once the temperature exceeds 925/sup 0/K. An extensive evaluation was also completed for the gasification of an Antrim shale from Michigan. Both the rates of CO/sub 2/ and steam gasification of the char were found to be markedly lower than that observed for a shale sample from the Parachute Creek member in Colorado. However, unlike the Colorado shale, the make gas resulting from the steam gasification of the Antrim shale produced nearly equal quantities of CO and CO/sub 2/. Thus, despite the high concentration of iron in the Antrim shale, the water gas shift reaction is not catalyzed nearly to the same extent as in western shales.

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