AndreaBozzo/ceres-open-data-index huggingface dataset:
Surface-area and pore-volume study of retorted oil shale

The surface area and pore distributions of retorted Colorado oil shale were studied using nitrogen and carbon dioxide adsorption and mercury porosimetry. Shale surface area was studied as a function of the heating rate during retorting. Results were analyzed with the Langmuir; Brunauer, Emmett, and Teller; and Dubinin-Polanyi equations. It was found that surface area correlated well with the amount of residual organic carbon. Also, the surface areas determined with carbon dioxide were substantially larger than those determined with nitrogen. Duplicate samples were decharred by heating in air at 400/sup 0/C for 24 h. The surface areas of these samples were less than half of those with the residual carbon. The surface areas of the retorted and decharred samples were combined to obtain an estimate of the specific surface area of the residual organic carbon (typically 300 m/sup 2//g). Acid leaching of three samples from those above removed the carbonate minerals. The surface areas determined by carbon dioxide adsorption showed an increase by a factor of two to three over the unleached samples. This effect was attributed to the formation of a sponge like structure caused by the dissolution of micrometer-sized crystals of calcite and dolomite in the shale. The pore characteristics of the retorted shale was also examined by mercury porosimetry and nitrogen adsorption. Scanning electron microscope pictures demonstrate the origin of the porosity.

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Fluidized-bed retorting of oil shale

The fluidized bed is an effective method for investigating retorting phenomena and possibly a commercial means of retorting oil shale. Both were examined by Sinclair Oil (now part of Atlantic Richfield Co.) in the period 1965-1968). The results of the work show that the presence of an oxidizing environment during retorting results; in loss of oil yield which indicates that vapor phase oil burns in preference to combustion of coke on spent shale. Consideration of hardware indicates that there are several possibilities for commercial embodiment. As a companion to shaft-type retorts the fluidized bed could have good potential. Realistic assessment of costs suggests that further development may have to wait commercialization of another process.

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Effects of aqueous effluents from in situ fossil fuel processing technologies on aquatic systems. Progress report, 1 January 1980-1 November 1981

During 1980, we completed the literature review task with publication of Volumes 1 and 2 of the ''Bibliography of Aquatic Ecosystem Effects, Analytical Methods and Treatment Technologies for Organic Compounds in Advanced Fossil-Fuel Processing Effluents.''A summary of work completed on all process waters evaluated during this project (15 May 1977 through 1 November 1981) is presented. A total of 32 process waters from coal gasification, oil shale retorting and tar sands extraction have been evaluated through our screening steps that include chemical toxicity, degradation and bioaccumulation testing. For the current reporting period we have completed work on 9 process water samples or sample sets: (1) the embryo-larval bioassay exposing fathead minnows (Pimephales promelas) to Hanna-4B-01W coal gasification condenser water; (2) toxicant avoidance bioassays with the same Hanna-4B sample; (3) acute toxicity bioassays of chemical fractions of Hanna-3 (CGR-76-178) coal gasification condenser water; (4) Occidental-6 oil shale retort water (embryo-larval bioassays on fathead minnows and rainbow trout,9657 ); (5) Lawrence Livermore Run-4 oil shale retort water (chemical characterization, acute toxicity tests, and toxicant avoidance tests,9657 ); (6) Geokinetics-17 oil shale retort water (chemical characterization and acute toxicity tests,9657 ); (7) Omega-9, Geokinetics-9, and Paraho Tank 500 oil shale retort waters (fractional toxicity tests,9657 ); and (8) one major tar sands process water, Vernal tar sands water (80-Tarsand-1S-03W-00-C). Because this sample was produced as a stable oil-water emulsion, it was necessary to treat the sample in various ways producing several treated water samples which were characterized along with the raw water.

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Application of petroleum demulsification technology to shale oil emulsions

Demulsification, the process of emulsion separation, of water-in-oil shale oil emulsions produced by several methods was accomplished using commercial chemical demulsifiers which are used typically for petroleum demulsification. The shale oil emulsions were produced from Green River shale by one in situ and three different above-ground retorts, an in situ high pressure/high temperature steam process, and by washing both retort-produced and hydrotreated shale oils.

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Physical analog of UCG single and multi-cavity sweep

Tests were conducted in a salt media for the purpose of simulating single- and multi-cavity sweep in underground coal gasification (UCG). Two-dimension tests were run with 1 foot well spacings. Single-column, two-column cavity progression from one set of wells to another set of wells in downstream progression, etc., and three-column tests were like-wise conducted. Nearly complete resource recovery was achieved wherein supported columns were left for subsidence (support) considerations. 4 refs.

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Modifications to a cyclone oil shale retorting concept

A system for utilizing oil shale fines, in which the fines, instead of being rejected as wastes, are crushed even finer and then are used in a cyclone retort is described. This patented process uses high combustion temperature that removes all of the organic material from the spent shale and converts it into an inert, granulated slag. The primary advantages of this retorting system over more conventional aboveground retorting processes are the ability to use finely divided oil shales as charge stock and the production of an essentially inert slag from the retorted shale. A series of calculations were made to evaluate variations of the original concept. The original process design was based on a cyclone furnace temperature of 2800{degree}F and the use of hot combustion gases as the retorting medium. A recent study of retorted and burned oil shale properties showed that molten slag could be produced at temperatures lower than 2800{degree}F; therefore, additional calculations were made using a furnace temperature of 2300{degree}F. 11 refs., 6 figs., 11 tabs.

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Oil shale quarterly report, April--December 1989

Research on oil shales is reported. Programs discussed include: coke formation on the burnt shale present in a solid-cycle fluidized bed retort; coking of flash-pyrolyzed shale oil vapors in a down stream packed-bed reactor; pilot plant development; and short term carbonate decomposition in green river oil shale. 17 refs., 21 figs., 7 tabs. (CBS)

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Effect of particle size distribution and flow non-uniformities on dispersion in porous media:  application to oil shale retorts

This paper considers the effects of particle size distribution and flow nonuniformities on the dispersion of an inert tracer in porous media using some simplified models, and compares the results to recent dispersion data taken on external retorts filled with oil shale particles. The effect of the particle size distribution is analyzed by studying the dispersion of a tracer in a series of infinite parallel pores of varying diameters. The pores are considered to be in either laminar or turbulent flow. The predicted dispersion coefficient of the porous medium is shown to be a function of the Peclet number and the higher moments of the distribution of pore radii. The Peclet number dependence is in agreement with experimental measurements, as is the qualitative dependence on particle size distribution. The effect of flow nonuniformities is studied by analyzing the dispersion of an inert tracer in a packed bed with two annular regions of different interstitial velocities. The dispersion coefficient for the area-averaged concentration is shown to be a very sensitive function of the parameters in the flow distribution. The dispersion coefficients measured in external retorts or packed beds filled with oil shale particles are much higher than those previously measured using uniform particles of the same average size. These differences can be accounted for if one allows for the possibility of having a significant contribution from flow nonuniformities.

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Oil shale mining

The term oil shale is defined. Foreign oil shale developments are outlined briefly. The richest and most extensive oil-shale deposits in the United States lie in Western Colorado. The bureau of Mines is opening two adjacent areas for underground mining in Western Colorado. From the first area the oil shale is mined selectively as required by the retorting plant. The second area is being developed as a unit of a full scale oil-shale mine to ascertain the most practical methods of mining oil shale and to determine costs. In both of these mining areas, research will be carried on to develop new and improved practices for mining oil shale.

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Explosively produced fracture of oil shale. Progress report, April 1977--March 1978

Characterization of wave propagation parameters for Green River Oil Shale is essentially complete, although much work is needed to define the fracture mechanisms adequately. Several fracture models have been developed and await large-scale verification; these models predict interesting and potentially useful effects arising from anisotropy. The results of material parameter variation and explosive type, boostering, and geometrical emplacement given represent a first step in optimization of the large-scale explosive event designed to create a modified in situ retort. Plans for the LASL/Colony Mine experiments also are presented; these tests are crucial to development of a computer-based, predictive rock mechanics capability.

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Explosively produced fracture of oil shale. Annual report, March 1976--March 1977

Material properties of oil shale, principally Hugoniots, dynamic spall strength, wave profiles, and elastic constants, are discussed as functions of shale grade and bedding orientation. Nonideal explosive behavior of ANFO and other explosives was investigated both experimentally and theoretically, and the results are given. Finally, these oil shale and explosive properties were integrated into a sophisticated hydrodynamic computer code, representing the first step toward development of a predictive capability for explosive fracture. 81 figures.

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Modeling of an oil-shale fluidized-bed retorting process using ASPEN

A simple two-vessel fluidized-bed oil shale retorting process is considered. Fresh shale is pyrolyzed in a fluidized-bed retort, and the residual char on the shale is burned in a fluidized-bed combustor to provide process heat. Heat is transferred to the retort by recirculating solids between the combustor and the retort. The proposed process is analogous to a fluid catalytic-cracking plant. Such plants are currently in operation with combustor units up to 20 m in diameter. It is estimated that a combustor of this size could supply sufficient heat to retort the amount of shale necessary to produce about 100,000 b/d of shale oil. This paper is concerned with an evaluation of the overall energy balance and the impact of the decomposition of calcite (CaCO/sub 3/) minerals in the shale on the energy balance of such a retorting arrangement. The shale deposits in the Green River formation generally contain substantial amounts of carbonate minerals, and the complete decomposition of calcite, CaCO/sub 3/ = CaO   CO/sub 2/ ..delta..H/sup 0/ = 1.832 x 10/sup 8/ J/kgmole(1) will require a significant fraction of the heat of combustion of the char. The results of this study showed that, for certain operating conditions, significant amounts of calcite will decompose and that the energy requirement for decomposition will affect the reactor temperatures. The presence of calcium oxide in the retort will also alter pyrolysis product yields. Some experimental data on pyrolysis product yields from fluidized-bed retorting of oil shale in the presence of CaO are briefly mentioned. The ASPEN process simulator and economic evaluation system was used to develop the computer model of this recirculating solids process.

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BX In-Situ Oil-Shale Project. Quarterly technical progress report, June 1-August 31, 1979

The objective of the Project is to demonstrate the technical feasibility of using superheated steam as a heat-carrying medium to retorting in situ the oil shale in the Green River Formation "leached" zone and provide a mechanism for the recovery of this shale oil with a minimum impact on the environment. Utilizing primarily the natural porosity in the leached zone, approximately one trillion BTU of heat will be injected into a site over a two-year period to heat to retorting temperature a shale zone approximately 550 feet thick and covering about one acre. The field Project is located at Equity's BX In Situ site in Rio Blanco County in northwestern Colorado.

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In situ coal gasification with heat recuperation by cold water injection

Underground heat losses are considerable and reduce the efficiency of producing coal energy. Research is in progress to adapt the oilfield technique of heat conservation. Thus, from oil experience it is known that cold water, injected together with the air, will recuperate heat left behind by a travelling process zone, keep the temperature wave short and minimize the heat ultimately lost in cap- and baserock. The authors investigate the applicability of the same principle to underground coal gasification aiming at a short temperature wave travelling from injection to production well. 6 refs.

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Fracturing oil shale with electricity

Laboratory studies to evaluate the use of electricity for fracturing various grades of Colorado oil shale were started in 1964. Breakdown voltage requirements ranged up to several thousand volts and varied widely from one grade of shale to another. With few exceptions, the shale samples were readily fractured at relatively low current levels. Experiments were expanded to a small-scale field project in an abandoned oil-shale mine tunnel. The purpose was to study electrical characteristics of oil shale when subjected to overburden pressure. In general, these tests confirmed the laboratory experiments. Fracturing was accomplished at all electrode spacings used. The spacings varied from 3 to 129 ft. Fracturing tests also were conducted in 4 shallow wells drilled in the oil-shale formation. Some new permeable zones were created but, in general, the induced permeability between wells was not up to desired levels.

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Conceptual design of production systems for NOSR 1. Naval Oil Shale Reserves management support and systems engineering project

The objective of this study is to screen out those technology options that are obviously unsuitable for NOSR 1 application, and to establish a framework for future production systems evaluations. This study has attempted to put all available data on a common basis, and derive those data that are unavailable. The results of this study have enabled us to perform the initial screening. The initial screening includes consideration of all technologies (mining, ore handling, retorting, upgrading, and transportation), synthesis of total production systems, and computation of capital costs. An assessment of six mining options has shown that room-and-pillar mining and vertical modified in situ (MIS) mining are the only options feasible for NOSR 1. With room-and-pillar mining and surface retorting of 34 GPT shale, the recoverable reserves on NOSR 1 are sufficient to last 90 to 100 years at a production rate of 50,000 BPD. At this same production rate, the recoverable reserves are sufficient for 20 to 30 years when MIS and MIS/surface retorting options are considered. There are approximately 17 options available for retorting shale. These fall broadly into the categories of surface and in situ retorting, solvent processing, and bioleaching. Process options retained after initial screening include: Paraho, Lurgi-Ruhrgas, Union B, Tosco II, Superior Circular Grate, Oxy MIS, RISE, and MIS/surface retorting combustion. Preliminary analyses of water requirements have shown that the Paraho and Tosco processes consume the least water, whereas the Lurgi process consumes the most. Capital costs (or investment) for nine options have been calculated for a nominal 50,000 BPD plant producing both pipeline and refinery feedstock oil. The Lurgi process is shown to be the least expensive primarily because of the low investment in the retorts. The modified in situ process has the highest investment. 20 figures, 19 tables.

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Field and laboratory leaching studies of retorted Kentucky oil shales: report of progress of the Hope Creek field study. Progress report, April 1, 1983-October 1, 1984

This report summarizes the first year's progress of a field study on the reclamation, geotechnical, engineering and elemental release or leaching characteristics of retorted Kentucky oil shale and related materials. The retorted oil shale was derived from a pilot plant test conducted by Dravo Engineers, Inc., in their circular traveling grate retort. The shale was mined in Montgomery County, Kentucky, where the field research site is also located. Geochemical research at the site is centered around the field determination of the compaction characteristics of the spent oil shale and raw crushing fines mixtures using mining equipment. Reclamation research at the site includes experiments to evaluate the potential of oil shale overburden materials to serve as soil substitutes; the use of oil shales as soil amendments; and the fertilizer requirements for oil shale spoil reclamation. To date, ten reclamation plots have been constructed. First year seeding failed due to late planting and early drought. Second year activities included re-tilling and re-planting the plots. An excellent stand of grass has been developed on the plots. The purpose of the leaching study is to determine the chemical composition of waters which come in contact with the spent oil shale and determine their characteristics for acid or toxic elemental release. Two large four-chambered concrete lysimeters were constructed and fitted with tubing to collect leachate at various points within the lysimeters. The lysimeters have been filled with spent oil shale and various configurations of soils and overburden materials. Collection of samples began in 1984 after the materials were saturated by natural precipitation. Although it is too early for an extensive evaluation, leachates from the spent shale are very acidic and contain elevated trace element concentrations. 25 refs., 21 figs., 2 tabs.

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Oil shale:  a new set of uncertainties

The discovery and delivery of North Sea oil has created an uncertain future for the British oil shale industry in spite of its lower price per barrel. While oil companies have long been interested in a secure shale oil source for chemical feedstocks, environmental concerns, mining difficulties, and inflated operating costs have counteracted the opportunity provided by the 1973 oil embargo. With the financial risks of oil shale mining and retorting too great for a single company, research efforts have shifted to a search for technologies that will be multistaged and less costly, such as in-situ mining, in-situ processing, and hydraulic fracturing. Successful testing and demonstration of these processes will determine the future commercial role of oil shales. 17 references and footnotes.

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Attrition of spent oil shales during pneumatic conveying and cyclone separating. [Burnt shales]

Retorted and burnt shales prepared from rich and lean raw shales were blown through a 6-m vertical lift pipe and a small cyclone separator at gas velocities of 15 and 30 m/s, passing through the system either once or ten times. Size distributions of feeds and cyclone-bottom products were measured, as were those of some of the cyclone-top dusts. Aspect ratios of particles from the feedstocks and selected products were measured with the Quantimet 720. The size distributions of all the materials were downshifted during gasifying and cycloning, the lean, retorted shale only slightly, the rich, burnt material most severely. The new exterior surface area generated through attrition, estimated from the drag-mean particle size, rose as the square of the gas velocity and the 0.7 power of the number of passes. The aspect-ratio studies showed that the attritted particles were more rounded than the feeds and became more so with increasing gas velocity and  repeated passes. This evidence, and the character of the size-distribution shifts, shows that the main mechanism of attrition of these materials is the breaking away and abrasion of asperities. Particle loading had no effect at all upon any of the size-distribution parameters or new-surface generation. This finding implies that attrition occurred by contact between particles and equipment walls rather than by interparticle collisions. It should therefore be less severe in larger equipment. 22 figures, 5 tables.

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State-of-the-art summary for underground coal gasification

Even though the ability to measure and control the key factors for underground coal gasification operations has not been demonstrated to date, application of the process to steeply dipping coal seams is especially attractive and relatively close to commercialization. State-of-the-art technology appears adequate for thick seams of low-rank coal with favourable geological conditions. Significant advances are required before the process can deal with thin-seam bituminous coals and coal seams containing aquifers or with aquifers in the overburden.

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High performance liquid chromatographic characterization of oil shale retort waters

Analytical procedures are required for the rapid, quantitative determination of organic solute alteration in oil-shale retort waters which may occur through photolytic, thermal, chemical, and microbial action. High performance liquid chromatographic separations of retort water solutes were optimized using selected eluants on 25-cm bonded phase columns. RP8 (reverse phase, long chain hydrocarbon bonded) columns of high theoretical plate capacity (10,000 to 40,000 plates/m) with programed gradient elution provided adequate resolution spectra against which comparisons may be made of spectra from altered retort waters.

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Geotechnical studies related to in situ lignite-gasification trials. Semi-annual technical report, October 1, 1980-March 31, 1981

The Petroleum Engineering Department at Texas A and M University has conducted field tests on in situ gasification of lignite first at the Easterwood Site near the main campus during 1978 and more recently at the Rockdale Site adjacent to the Sandow Mine near the town of Rockdale in Milam County, Texas. The present project is related to the gasification trials at the Rockdale Site. The objective of the current study is to investigate those geotechnical factors that may influence the performance of the in situ gasification process. These factors include: (1) pre-existing fracture patterns in the lignite and their influence on permeability; (2) strength and deformability of the overburden materials and how these properties are changed by the gasification process and their relationship to subsidence; and (3) the size, shape, and orientation of cavities produced by the process and their relationship to local fracture patterns and geologic structure. The current study is necessarily site specific and related to the Rockdale Site. Ultimately, the goal is to develop models that would be adaptable to any site with a minimum amount of site-specific investigation.

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