Patent CA-1064843-A (CA)
Inventor: MORRELL JACQUE C
IPC: C10G1/02
Filed: 1975-11-24
Granted: 1979-10-23
Abstract: PROCESS FOR THE PRODUCTION OF DISTILLATE FUELS    FROM OIL-SHALES AND BY-PRODUCTS THEREFROM     ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The invention relates to a unitary and continuous process to produce the desired products, divided for clarity of description, into two sections:   (A) Retort-ing section and (B) cracking section-the first compris-ing a retorting section which in one principal aspect may be an essentially tubular vertical retort, one type of which is shown in Fig. 1; or in another aspect a horizontal rotating retort sloping downwardly, in which in any event the oil shale is heated indirectly by the hot gases of combustion, and are kept separate from the oil vapors and gases from the oil shale.  The hot com-bustion products of the fuel in general move upwardly and out of direct contact with the shale and products therefrom.  The fuel in general is producer gas made from the spent oil shale and/or coke from the cracking section, and alternatively hydrocarbon gases both from the retort and cracking section of the process all of which fuels in general furnish and the heat to support the entire operation including refining, steam generation and power production generally, including electricity. The oil vapors (and gases) from the oil shale pass into a fractionator and/or partial condenser which is dir-ectly connected to the oil shale retort (and a part of section A) and wherein the light oil distillate and water (from the oil shale) are condensed, separated and collected as an overhead product; and the major portion of the shale oil, i.e. the hot liquid condensate or reflux from the bottom of a fractionator and/or partial condenser which is the charging stock for cracking section B, may be pumped by a high pressure hot oil pump together with the hot re-flux condensate from the dephlegmator of cracking section B through the highly heated cracking tubes of section B, and into one of the reaction and coking chambers of section B wherein the coke from the reaction is deposited and accumulated until ready for switching to another chamber for periodic cleaning and removal of the coke.  The vapors leaving the reaction chamber pass into the dephlegmator of cracking section B where the overhead cracked or pressure distillate containing the unrefined product of the process is condensed and collected and separated, and the hot heavier reflux condensate from the dephleg-mator of the cracking section B is continuously re-cycled, together with the major portion of the hot shale oil form the fractionator of the oil shale retort section A, to produce on a continuous basis the desired products of the process.  The retort section A including the fractionator, etc. both at relatively high tempera-tures of the process, is under substantially atmospheric pressure of may be made slightly less (by use of a suction fan) to avoid leakage; whereas the cracking section of the process is entirely under a relatively high super-atmospheric pressure throughout the system; and all the heating elements and those directly attached thereto e.g. the heater or cracking tubes, reaction or cracking chambers, and  dephlegmator are at relatively high temperatures.  The by-products of the process other than those used as fuel e.g. those produced form spent oil shale and their uses are obviously secondary to those of the principal invention.