The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1920-06-14
WILL GET OIL
 IN FUTURE OUT
 OF STALE ROCK
Provides Almost Unlimited Supply of Raw Ma
 terial
(Literary Digest.)

 form. according to President Victor c. Alderson. of the Colorado School of Mines. Oil-shale, from which oil may be extracted by dstillation, Is the only great national reservoir that can be absolutely depended upons President Alderson asserts. It will be the source of our oil supply for the future, for it provides an almost un- limited suply of raw material. Its distribution is worldwide and it's eX- tent incalculable. Extensive deposits are found in Colorado. Utah. Wyom- ing. Nevada. Montana and California. It abounds in Canada, in Scotland, in France. in South Africa, in New South Wales, New Zealand. Tasmania, Bra gil, Italy, Spain, Austria-Hung gary, Serbia, and Turkey. President AL .derson figures out that in his home state alone. if 100 plants were in op- eration, each treating 2.000 tons daily, they would have daily pro- duction of 100000 barrels, and they would have material to last them 800 years Our quotations are from paper read at the St. Louis Mining Congress by pr. Alderson and issued in pamphlet form. We read:
 "Oil-shaIe virtually contains no oil as such It is a consolidated mud or clay deposit from which petroleum is obtained. by distillation. In appear ance the shale is black, or brownish- black, but on weathered surfaces it Is white or gray. It is usually fine grained, with some lime and occa- sionalIy sand It is tough. but in thin sections friable. When broken to a fresh surface it may give an odor like petroleum. Thin. rich pieces may burn with a sooty flame. Oil- shale must be carefully distinguished from oil-sand. In the oil-sand the oil is contained in the sand as oil. When the sand is penetrated by well the oil gushes out or is pumped out. In the oi1-shale there is no oil as such but only the uncooked in- gradients of oil. When the shale is subjected to destructive distilla ation- i. e., heated in a closed vessel or cooked shale- oil results as a manu- factured product.
 "Oil-shale is one of a long list of natural deposits which result from the deposition of organic matter from plants or animals of former geologic era-like anthracite, bituminous, and brown coal, peat. petroleum. and as- phaltum- Beds of oil-shale were laid down in lagoons, or wide expanses of quiet water. They contain a large mount of organic matter-low plant forms of lifeIike algae; also pollen, fsh-scales, insects, and remains Of animal and vegetable life.
 "At the present time we have no exact knowledge of the change or the persistency of oil values with depth, nor the underground difficulties to be met in mining. Up to the present time sampling has been done on weathered outcrops or from shale close to the surface. There is reason to expect that as unaltered shale is reached it will be found to be richer than shale near the surface
 The oil-shale industry. President AIderson tells us, has been in opera tion in Scotland since 1850, and has met and overcome technical, trade, and economic obstacles It seems to him a mere matter of common sense for the pioneers of the industry in the United States to follow the smethods of Scotland; to adapt them to our conditions, and then to improve them as fast as possible Besides the production of crude oil, gas, and am- monium sulfate. he suggests that the nitrogen may be reclaimed in a form for use in the manufacture of muni-
 
 tion oils may be obtained; possibly producer gas, a substitute for rubber, and other products may become val uable All in all, he says, the oii-shale industry presents long series of pro- blems to be solved by trained men. The industry can be chased as com b:ned mining-c chemical-nanufac g project To quote further:
 ''In mining oil-sha1e, steam-shovel methods may be eliminated for the present. Beds of shaie amenaible to such stroy any beds of shale lying above cliffs. To reach these beds expensive roads would have to be constructe6 a and the first cost of installation would be excessive. In the next place. the long wall system of coal mining can be eliminated, because under that method the roof is allowed to cave in after mining and this would de- stroy and beds of shale lying above the one being mined. The room-an1- pillar method of coal mining witl probably be adopted. A large percentage of shale must be left. but this is inconsequential on account of the great extent of the deposits. It goes without saying that to open an oil-shale deposit properly a definite plan of development must be outlined
 
 vision made for rapid and economical haulage, and the numerous appliances provided for handling a very large tonnage in an efficient and economical way. The open-cut method may be used in some favorable localities.
 "The on-shale industry has va riety of phases and is consequently . complex industry. The mining o1 shale will probably present no pro- blems of a troublesome character The crlN of the industry is, however in the restoring-i. e., in the conver- sion of the shale into oil and gas. The specific problem is to apply heat tc the retort at such a temperature anG with such uniformity that not only will the maximum yield be produced but that the oil will be of a suitable character for the succeeding process of refining. On this problem Ameri. can ingenuity is at work. Already about 20 processes are in course of de ve1opment."
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