A hot-recycled solid oil shale retorting process for the production of shale oil and specialty chemicals
- Lawrence Livermore National Lab., CA (United States)
At Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, we are studying Hot-Recycled-Solid (HRS) oil shale retorting processes through a series of fundamental studies, operation of a 4 tonne-per-day HRS pilot plant and development of an Oil Shale Process (OSP) mathematical model. Over the last two years, under an industrial CRADA with four major oil companies, we have completed a series of runs (H10-H27) using the pilot plant to demonstrate the technical feasibility of the technology, maintain and enhance the knowledge base gained over the past two decades through research and development and determine the follow on steps needed to advance the technology towards commercialization. The pilot plant, which features no moving parts in critical areas, has been successfully operated for over 100 hours, demonstrating ease of control and reliability of the process. Efficiency is obtained via high throughput, thorough carbon utilization, waste shale heat recovery, improved oil yield and one hundred percent utilization of mined material, including shale fines. We have demonstrated the ability to work with both lean and rich shales (22-38 gallons-per-ton), and environmentally the process has superior behavior producing non-hazardous waste shale, minimal sulfur emissions, lower NO{sub x} emissions and minimum CO{sub 2} production. Fundamental laboratory experiments support the pilot plant efforts with determination of kinetics for pyrolysis, combustion and carbonate decomposition for the process as well as determining specifications for produced raw shale oil. In addition, we have developed the Oil Shale Process (OSP) model to aid in critical thinking and scale up of the HRS process. We have put forth a commercial plant concept which combines the production of refined shale oil, meeting motor fuel specifications, with electric power and specialty chemical production.
- OSTI ID:
- 254871
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-940813-; TRN: 96:003482-0235
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: 208. American Chemical Society (ACS) national meeting, Washington, DC (United States), 21-26 Aug 1994; Other Information: PBD: 1994; Related Information: Is Part Of 207th ACS national meeting. Volume 39, Nos. 1, 2, 3 and 4; PB: 1304 p.
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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