Norwich bulletin., 1922-12-16

of sedimentary origin, yielding over SS | per cent. ash and containing organic mat | ter that yields oil when distilled but not | appreciably when extracted with the or dinary solvents for petroleum. Oil-shale occurs in many parts of the world, but the shale deposits of Scotland, because of their having been the basis of a commer- c!al industry for many years, are the most widely known. The shades worked at present in Scotland yieH about 25 gallons of oil and pounds O. ammonium sulphate to the short ton.
 Oil shaie deposits have been worked in a small way in the county of Dorset in England from time to time for cen- turies. Oil-shale deposits of importance occur in the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia, and in New South Wales and Queensland in Australia. Shale deposits in the provinc- es of Alfier and Seone at Loire, France, have been worked for more than half century. Large deposits of shale exist in Jugo-Slavia, Spain, Sweden, Bulgaria , Germany. Italy, Switzerland, Esthonia, Brazil and other countries.
 | In the United States, the largest oil shades are in the Rocky Mountain region, and belong to the Green river formation in northwestern Colorado, southwestern Wyoming and northeastern Utah. The Green River formation contains persist ent beds up to 49 feet thick that will yield at least S5 gallons of crude oil to the ton. More thorough surveying and sampEng may discover thicker seams of equal or greater richness. A recently discovered 20-foot seam yielded over 50 gallons of oil to the ton, by laboratory test. In Colorado, the Green River for nation attains a maximum thickness Of about 2,600 feet.
 1 Some beds, most of them too thin to be worked commercially, have yielded up to
 90 gallons of oil to the ton in laboratory i tests, and it is safe to assume that the Green River formation contains enough shale of workable thickness to supply a
 large amount of material that for many years will yield over 35 gallons to the ton. These shades will also yiGd per ton up
 wards of 20 pounds of ammonium sul- phate, valuable for fertilizer purposes.
 The oil shales of Nevada occur most ly in the eastern district near Elko and
 Carlin. They differ physically and
 chemically from the shades of tine Green
 River formation, and are usually some
 what lighter in color for the same yield
 vf of.
 The California deposits, for the most
 part of hardly true oil-shales, as the
 greater part of the oil obtained from
 them occurs as such, and can be extract
 ed by suitable solvents. Their oil yield varies greatly, but the average is not
 high; even the best do not yield much
 over 20 gallons to the ton, and their nj
 trOgen content is very low. In many
 places the deposits are thick, and are ac-
 ceSsible; so notwithstanding their low
 yield of oil, they have commercial possi
 biIities.
 Near Dillon, Montana, there are oi
 shale beds three feet or more thick thai
 will probably yield up to 30 gallons o, oil to the ton. The phosphate beds as sociated with these shales, are possibly o : future importance as a commercial
 source of phosphates.
 The black shades of the [ vonian for [ nation, capable of yielding possibl. economic quantities of oil, are known t , exist in the states of Indiana, Illinois
 Kentucky, Ohio, New York, Pennsylvania | West Virginia and Tennessee. ShaIes O l the same formation, yielding notabl
 quantities of oil, have been reported il
 Missouri, Kansas, and Oklahoma. Oil
 shale is known to occur in Texas also.
 The production of oil from bituminou
 materials was known at least as early a
 1904 when Ele, Hancock and Portloc distilled "oyle from kind of stone
 from Shropshire, England. As early a :. 1761, oils were distilled from bituminou :" or oil-shales for medicinal purposes an l. as early as 1915, a works in Englan produced oil and ammonia by the distii Y lation of coal
 :. The oil-shale industry has been deyel # oped to a greater extent in Scotland Una e in any part of the world. The amount C . capital invested in leases, mines, work = refineries and the like in Scotland is i H excess of $12,500,00O. In tne opinion
 
 :, gagged or who contemplate investing ( 70 becoming engaged in the ofl-shale induI ' try in the United States, will make n d mistake by studying, in detail, the tecf - nique of the Scotch industry. It has bee . inexistenee since 1885, and while it's tecl ,e nique may not apply in it's entirety 1 '1 American shales and conditions, .~- e1 v perience of Scotch operators ans the
 methods of solving difficulties in comme cial operations can be of great value l. our future oil sha1e industry.
 Il In 1880 there were in the UniII It States fifty-three companies, mostly Y the eastern part of the country. produ IS ing oil by the distillation of. varie, n kinds of bitumineus substances. n . methods used were crude, and materia Il treated ranged from bitum .aous and cal s nel coalS to some true oi.-Ghales. IT , desired product was kerosene or GO IS IS oil,'' which latter term survives since u II time when most of the kerosene used IS this country was really derived from co le and the like Some of these compani y were only just getting started when Il IT American petroleum industry came in so being, reducing the price of kerosene e. such an extent that ''shale-oiT' oper T. tions became unproftable, and the plan CT were abandoned or adapted for use ne refining petroleum.
 Of In 1916 there developed in the Unit on States remarkable interest iG eil-shal ea and the year marked the beginning of in attempted development of an oii-shale ag dustry in tfr1s country. Since that ye h an increasing amount of work has be as, done on oI-shale, but not commercial c to shale operations have been started in u 'ie country, and the industry does not } IT, exist; except in the literature Of pFon ". ton organizations