AndreaBozzo/ceres-open-data-index huggingface dataset:
Environmental control costs for oil shale processes

The studies reported herein are intended to provide more certainty regarding estimates of the costs of controlling environmental residuals from oil shale technologies being readied for commercial application. The need for this study was evident from earlier work conducted by the Office of Environment for the Department of Energy Oil Shale Commercialization Planning, Environmental Readiness Assessment in mid-1978. At that time there was little reliable information on the costs for controlling residuals and for safe handling of wastes from oil shale processes. The uncertainties in estimating costs of complying with yet-to-be-defined environmental standards and regulations for oil shale facilities are a critical element that will affect the decision on proceeding with shale oil production. Until the regulatory requirements are fully clarified and processes and controls are investigated and tested in units of larger size, it will not be possible to provide definitive answers to the cost question. Thus, the objective of this work was to establish ranges of possible control costs per barrel of shale oil produced, reflecting various regulatory, technical, and financing assumptions. Two separate reports make up the bulk of this document. One report, prepared by the Denver Research Institute, is a relatively rigorous engineering treatment of the subject, based on regulatory assumptions and technical judgements as to best available control technologies and practices. The other report examines the incremental cost effect of more conservative technical and financing alternatives. An overview section is included that synthesizes the products of the separate studies and addresses two variations to the assumptions.

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Reverse combustion oil-shale retorting

Oil shale was retorted in a laboratory retort with the flame front and gas flow moving concurrently and countercurrently. Results indicate countercurrent flow produced a lower oil yield and a higher heating value of the retort gas than concurrent flow. Energy recovery from the oil shale was essentially the same when the retorting was done with either concurrent or countercurrent flame and gas movement. Laboratory results are compared with large scale retorts operated under similar conditions.

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Trace elements in oil shale. Progress report, 1979-1980

The purpose of this research program is to understand the potential impact of an oil shale industry on environmental levels of trace contaminants in the region. The program involves a comprehensive study of the sources, release mechanisms, transport, fate, and effects of toxic trace chemicals, principally the trace elements, in an oil shale industry. The overall objective of the program is to evaluate the environmental and health consequences of the release of toxic trace elements by shale and oil production and use. The baseline geochemical survey shows that stable trace elements maps can be constructed for numerous elements and that the trends observed are related to geologic and climatic factors. Shale retorted by above-ground processes tends to be very homogeneous (both in space and in time) in trace element content. Leachate studies show that significant amounts of B, F, and Mo are released from retorted shales and while B and Mo are rapidly flushed out, F is not. On the other hand, As, Se, and most other trace elements are not present in significant quantities. Significant amounts of F and B are also found in leachates of raw shales. Very large concentrations of reduced sulfur species are found in leachates of processed shale. Very high levels of B and Mo are taken up in some plants growing on processed shale with and without soil cover. There is a tendency for some trace elements to associate with specific organic fractions, indicating that organic chelation or complexation may play an important role. Many of the so-called standard methods for analyzing trace elements in oil shale-related materials are inadequate. A sampling manual is being written for the environmental scientist and practicing engineer. A new combination of methods is developed for separating the minerals in oil shale into different density fractions. Microbial investigations have tentatively identified the existence of thiobacilli in oil shale materials such as leachates. (DC)

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Reconnaissance examination of selected oil sand and oil spring occurrences in Wyoming. Final report

Numerous oil seeps and oil sands have been reported in the literature in Wyoming. Clark and Glass (Clark, M., and Glass, G.B., 1982, Review of reported tar sand occurrences and recent projects in Wyoming: Geological Survey of Wyoming Open File Report 82-5, 49 p.) reviewed the literature for reports of occurrences and catalogued 78 reported occurrences of shallow or outcropping oil sands and oil seeps in Wyoming. The majority of these references are quite old, with vague descriptions of locations and formations containing the oil. The purpose of this study was to do a reconnaissance field examination of selected occurrences to better describe the occurrence and make some assessment as to the potential economic importance of the deposit. A reconnaissance geologic map of the occurrence was constructed from field observations and existing maps from the literature. The deposit was sampled, described and photographed. Since it was impossible to visit 78 reported occurrences, the author visited only those surface occurrences which appeared significant based on the descriptions in the literature. A total of ten occurrences were visited and described during the summers of 1984 and 1985. The author attempted to locate additional reported occurrences, but either the description in the literature was too vague to locate the deposit or evidence of the occurrence could no longer be located due to developmental activity in the area. Also, a few of the occurrences which were located were deemed to be insignificant and were not described in detail or sampled. The oil sand occurrences examined were all in sandstones of varying depositional environments and ranged in age from Tertiary to Pennsylvanian. Examples of both structural and stratigraphic traps were examined. Both oil seeps examined appeared to be related to nearby faults. Some of the occurrences contain live oil at the outcrop while others appeared to contain primarily dead oil. 39 refs., 32 figs.

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Monitoring airborne particulates and gases

Gaseous and particulate emissions were monitored for two-week periods at each of the following Anvil Points locations: mine, crusher, retort and shale disposal areas. Gases appear to be normal ambient air. No CO, hydrocarbons, NO/sub x/, SO/sub 2/, As(AsH/sub 3/), Hg, Pb, or Se were detected. Except when the monitoring sites were very close to moving equipment, particulate loadings were fairly low (1 to 10 mg/M/sup 3/), and the mean particle size was generally within the 1 to 10 micron range. Bimodal particle size distribution was generally observed which would indicate that significant amounts of the particulates fell both above and below this range.

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Three-dimensional laboratory simulation of the pressure dependency of UCG (underground coal gasification)

Western Research Institute conducted a series of laboratory tests of underground coal gasification (UCG) at 100, 300, and 500 psig to investigate the effects of pressure on UCG product gas quality. Pressure did not significantly influence methane production rates because high temperatures thermodynamically exclude methanation as a principal producer of methane. The methane produced in these experiments ws the result of pyrolysis reactions. Hydrogen and carbon monoxide production decreased in the higher pressure tests, as expected from chemical equilibrium calculations. Mass transfer influences on the cavity wall growth rates were indicated by the strong dependency of air mass flux on gas quality observed in all three experiments. The difference noted between steeply dipping bed and horizontal underground coal gasification performance as a function of pressure is probably attributable to differences in reactor geometries. 12 refs., 11 figs., 4 tabs.

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Results of core drilling in the Mahogany Zone and some adjacent beds of the Green River formation, Winter Ridge area, Southeastern Uinta basin, Utah

The area discussed is in the S.-Central Uintah County and N.-Central Grand County, Utah. Seven shallow core holes were drilled in the area to evaluate the oil-shale beds of the Mahogany Zone and to determine the approximate position of the 15-ft isopach for the oil-shale sequence with an average yield of 15 gal of shale oil per ton. Sandstone beds immediately above and below the Mahogany Zone also were cored in order to sample those beds that contain bitumen. The cores were examined and described and cores from sequences containing appreciable amounts of kerogen or bitumen were assayed by the Fischer retort method. The core drilling was done by Wildcat Drilling Service, Inc. of Montrose, Colo., and the assaying was done by the Colorado School of Mines Research Institute, Golden, Colo.

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Characterization of DOE reference oil shales: Mahogany Zone, Parachute Creek Member, Green River Formation Oil Shale, and Clegg Creek Member, New Albany Shale

Measurements have been made on the chemical and physical properties of two oil shales designated as reference oil shales by the Department of Energy. One oil shale is a Green River Formation, Parachute Creek Member, Mahogany Zone Colorado oil shale from the Exxon Colony mine and the other is a Clegg Creek Member, New Albany shale from Kentucky. Material balance Fischer assays, carbon aromaticities, thermal properties, and bulk mineralogic properties have been determined for the oil shales. Kerogen concentrates were prepared from both shales. The measured properties of the reference shales are comparable to results obtained from previous studies on similar shales. The western reference shale has a low carbon aromaticity, high Fischer assay conversion to oil, and a dominant carbonate mineralogy. The eastern reference shale has a high carbon aromaticity, low Fischer assay conversion to oil, and a dominant silicate mineralogy. Chemical and physical properties, including ASTM distillations, have been determined for shale oils produced from the reference shales. The distillation data were used in conjunction with API correlations to calculate a large number of shale oil properties that are required for computer models such as ASPEN. There was poor agreement between measured and calculated molecular weights for the total shale oil produced from each shale. However, measured and calculated molecular weights agreed reasonably well for true boiling point distillate fractions in the temperature range of 204 to 399/sup 0/C (400 to 750/sup 0/F). Similarly, measured and calculated viscosities of the total shale oils were in disagreement, whereas good agreement was obtained on distillate fractions for a boiling range up to 315/sup 0/C (600/sup 0/F). Thermal and dielectric properties were determined for the shales and shale oils. The dielectric properties of the reference shales and shale oils decreased with increasing frequency of the applied frequency. 42 refs., 34 figs., 24 tabs.

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Characteristics of synthetic crude from crude shale oil produced by in situ combustion retorting

The nitrogen contents of in situ crude shale oils may be somewhat lower than those of crude shale oils produced in other retorts (1,9358 ); howver, thise in situ oils still contain more than twice as much nitrogen as high nitrogen petroleum crude oils. Because existing refineries would not be able to cope with the high nitrogen content of shale oil if it were a substantial portion of the refinery feed, the National Petroleum Council (NPC) has suggested (2) that crude shale oil be upgraded at the retorting site by a catalytic hydrogenation process to produce a synthetic premium feedstock called "syncrude." The production of such a syncrude from in situ crude shale, a description of its bulk properties and a comparison of its properties to those of an NPC-type syncrude have been converd in Chapter 6 of theis volume. This paper reports the compound-type characterics of that syncrude produced by Frost by catalytic hydrogenation of in situ crude oil. Special attention has been devoted to the nitrogen-compound types that are likely to be present in a syncrude because it is these compounds with which a refiner will have to deal if he uses this or a similar syncrude as his refinery feed.

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Pyrolysis of Sunnyside tar sand

Samples of whole Sunnyside tar sand were examined using thermal analysis techniques. These techniques included isothermal testing with detailed product analyses, nonisothermal testing with evolved gas analyses, and nonisothermal combustion analysis of residual carbon formed during Fischer assay and during isothermal testing. Isothermal tests were performed at 350, 375, 400, 425, and 440{degree}C using a rapid heating and quenching system based on a U-tube reactor and preheated fluidized sand bath. Condensable products having molecular weights between 240 and 278 were the primary volatile products. The hydrogen-to-carbon (H/C) ratio of the condensable material increased with increasing reaction temperature but did not change with reaction duration. The major noncondensable product was hydrogen, followed by methane and the carbon oxides. Soluble, nonvolatile materials had profiles indicative of sequential intermediates in the conversion of heptane-soluble material to pyridine-insoluble material. The activation energy for the formation of condensable products was 35.8 kcal/mole with a frequency factor of 1.2 {times} 10{sup 9} minutes{sup {minus}1}. Nonisothermal experiments show organic decomposition through two distinct paths at temperatures below 500{degree}C and inorganic decomposition through two paths at temperatures above 550{degree}C. The low-temperature organic decomposition has an activation energy below 10 kcal/mole, indicating devolatilization, while the higher-temperature organic decomposition has an activation energy of 33 kcal/mole by single activation energy modeling and 49 kcal/mole by the distributed activation energy model. Residual carbon combustion analyses indicate activation energies between 50 and 60 kcal/mole regardless of whether the residual carbon was produced by Fischer assay or isothermal pyrolysis. 14 refs., 24 figs., 13 tabs.

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Thermal decomposition of Tipton Member, Green River Formation oil shale from Wyoming

Isothermal pyrolysis studies have been conducted on a Tipton Member, Green River Formation oil shale from Wyoming. The conversion of kerogen to bitumen, oil, gas and residue products was obtained for different isothermal reaction times in the temperature range of 648 to 698 K using a heated sand bath reactor system. Particular attention was paid to the formation of the bitumen intermediate during decomposition and its temperature dependence. The maximum amount of extractable bitumen was found to increase with temperature. The observation is consistent with an oil shale decomposition model in which the activation energy for kerogen decomposition is greater than the activation energy for bitumen decomposition. The thermal decomposition data were fit using a nonlinear least-squares computer program. When the stoichiometric coefficients were held constant for all temperatures, the calculated activation energies for kerogen and bitumen decomposition were 64.4 and 37.9 kcal/mol, respectively. 17 refs., 3 figs., 4 tabs.

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Inorganic geochemical investigations of spent oil shales

A series of experiments were conducted to provide insight into the chemistry and mineralogy of spent western and eastern reference oil shales. The solubility of CaMoO{sub 4} was determined and the results used to evaluate the occurrence of CaMoO{sub 4} in spent western oil shales. The influence of oil extraction process, solid-solution contact time, and recarbonation on spent oil shale leachate chemical composition was examined. The mineralogy of spent eastern oil shale was characterized, as was the mineralogy of hydrated and recarbonated spent western oil shale samples. Some shortcomings associated with the use of geochemical models were identified. The use of geochemical models to predict leachate composition was also illustrated. 69 refs., 17 figs., 19 tabs.

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Characterization and geochemistry of Devonian oil shale: north Alabama, northwest Georgia, and south-central Tennessee (a resource evaluation). Final report

A geochemical survey to assess and evaluate the Devonian oil shale resources of north Alabama, northwest Georgia, and south-central Tennessee has been performed. Information is provided on the location and extent of the more favorable kerogen-bearing Devonian shale, oil and uranium content of the shale, trace metal and standard rock analyses for shale, data on the physical properties of the shale rock, mineralogy of the shale, chemical properties of the oil, and other pertinent data deemed necessary for resource development. The results indicate that the oil yield from areas underlain by Chattanooga Shale can be divided into areas having greater than 7 g/t and areas having less than 7 g/t. In general, the oil yield by Fischer assay of samples from the folded Appalachian Valley and Ridge and the Appalachian Plateaus provinces is poor, all having less than 5 g/t and most samples closer to 0 g/t. The extreme variance of Fischer assay values in the Chattanooga Shale could be the result of several parameters that influenced the nature of the shale: type of organic material in the shale; percentage of organic carbon present in the shale; increase in the amount of clastic material in the shale; paleogeographic position of the Devonian shale during regional deformation; or maturity of the kerogen. Excellent preservation of organic material in the shale samples from north Alabama and south-central Tennessee (average TOC = 16.02 wt %) and the high quality of preserved organic matter (Type I and Type II kerogen) imply that anoxic conditions must have existed in this marine environment. Based on the areal distribution of the Chattanooga Shale, its average thickness, and its average oil yield, we estimate that the Chattanooga Shale, having less than 150 ft of overlying rock covers an area of at least 391,500 acres in the FCA and immediate surrounding area. In-place shale oil resources are estimated at 2.9 billion barrels or 7400 barrels per acre.

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Wyoming Corehole No. 1--a potential site for production of shale oil in place

U.S. Bureau of Mines Wyoming Corehole No. 1 drilled near Eden in Wyoming's Green River Basin sampled Green River Formation oil shales representing a potential of 200 million bbl of oil per sq miles. In general properties and gross mineralogy, the sampled oil shales strongly resemble Mahogany-zone oil shales of Colorado and Utah. Alternating thin beds of tough, rich oil shale and brittle, lean oil shale at depths less than 700 ft may offer advantages to in place shale oil production techniques, providing possible access to at least 100,000 bbl of shale oil per acre in an area greater than 100,000 acres. (16 refs.)

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Fate of hazardous and nonhazardous wastes in used-oil disposal and recycling. Final report

The primary objective of this program was to identify the hazardous and nonhazardous compounds that might reasonably be found in used oil and to establish their fate under a variety of disposal and recycling scenarios. Those considered were sewer disposal, road oiling, combustion as a fuel, reprocessing by physical methods to produce a specification fuel, and various re-refining processes. A secondary objective was to assess the potential environmental impact of the contaminants in the waste and product streams associated with each scenario. The hazardous and nonhazardous compounds of major interest in waste oil were identified by literature review, interviews with participants in waste oil activities, and by laboratory analysis of 24 samples of waste oils obtained from recyclers and users. The contaminants were prioritized according to their concentrations in the oil and their health impacts, as determined by threshold limit values, drinking water standards, or other measures of multimedia health impacts. The prioritized listing formed the basis for the preparation of the COMPOSITE oil used in the experimental simulation studies of the waste oil disposal and recycling scenarios. The experimental simulation studies were designed to establish the fate, through material balance if possible, of specific contaminants under conditions that were representative of those normally encountered in each situation. In addition to the laboratory simulation studies, computer simulations were conducted to assess the physical transport of specific compounds during typical re-refining operations such as dehydration, light end removal, and vacuum distillation. 126 references, 15 figures, 93 tables.

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Removal of ammonia and alkalinity from oil shale retort waters

The possibility of removal and recovery of ammoniacal nitrogen from in-situ oil shale retort waters with weak acid cation exchange resins was investigated. The performance of several resins were compared and one resin selected for detailed evaluation. In this evaluation, the effect of various operating parameters on the effectiveness of the weak acid cation exchange system for NH/sub 4//sup  /-N removal was researched. Resin regeneration with both strong acids and CO/sub 2/ was evaluated. The results indicated some potential for the treatment of stripped retort waters with weak acid cation exchange resins in the sodium form. Recovery of NH/sub 4//sup  /-N from the resins and its separation from metals heavier than magnesium was accomplished by the use of dissolved CO/sub 2/.

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Environmental monitoring reference manual for synthetic fuels facilities. Users manual Sep 82-May 83

The manual is intended as a technical aid to applicants, the U.S. Synthetic Fuels Corporation (SFC), and environmental reviewers in developing and reviewing plans covering source and ambient monitoring around coal-, oil shale-, and tar sand-based synfuels plants, consistent with the Energy Security Act. The Act, which established the SFC, specifies that applicants for SFC financial assistance must develop an acceptable plan for environmental monitoring of the construction and operation of the proposed synthetic fuels facilities, following consultation with the EPA and other agencies. The manual does not provide rigorous specifications for an acceptable monitoring plan. Rather, it describes approaches to consider and issues to address in developing a monitoring plan (or an outline of a plan). The exact content of the plan or outline for a specific facility would depend on conditions associated with that plant.

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Determination of polar organic solutes in oil-shale retort water

A variety of analytic methods were used to quantitatively determine polar organic solutes in process retort water and a gas-condensate retort water produced in a modified in situ oil-shale retort. Specific compounds accounting for 50% of the dissolved organic carbon were identified in both retort waters. In the process water, 42% of the dissolved organic carbon consisted of a homologous series of fatty acids from C/sub 2/ to C/sub 10/. Dissolved organic carbon percentages for other identified compound classes were as follows: aliphatic dicarboxylic acids, 1.4%; phenols, 2.2%; hydroxypyridines, 1.1%; aliphatic amides, 1.2%. In the gas-condensate retort water, aromatic amines were most abundant at 19.3% of the dissolved organic carbon, followed by phenols (17.8%), nitriles (4.3%), aliphatic alcohols (3.5%), aliphatic ketones (2.4%), and lactones (1.3%). Steam-volatile organic solutes were enriched in the gas-condensate retort water, whereas nonvolatile acids and polyfunctional neutral compounds were predominate organic constituents of the process retort water. 28 references.

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