Laboratory study of Green River oil shale retorting under pressure in a nitrogen atmosphere. [Effects of pressure, sweep-gas rate, and heating rate on yields and properties of products]
Studies were carried out on a 31-gpt Green River shale sample to determine the effects of pressure, sweep-gas rate, and heating rate on the batch retorting process. Each experiment was performed in a vertical pressure retort which could be heated at predetermined fixed rates to a final bed temperature of about 950/sup 0/F. Nitrogen sweep gas was fed at the top and exited at the bottom along with any produced gaseous and liquid products. Sweep-gas rate and pressure were independently controlled. Pressures from atmospheric to 1,500 psig, nominal heating rates from 14 to 125/sup 0/F/hr, and sweep-gas space velocities generally in the range from 1 to 125 SCF/hr/ft/sup 2/ of bed were studied. Oil yields, gas yields, and the ultimate distribution of the initial organic carbon in the raw shale are reported for each run. Within the scatter in the data, pressure was the only variable that had an appreciable effect on the results of the retorting process. With increase of pressure, the oil yields (including C/sub 4/+ gases) were found to decrease from an average of 93 percent (of Fischer assay) at atmospheric pressure to 78 percent at 1,500 psig. Other effects of increasing pressure were found to be an increase in gas production, an increase in retorted shale coke, a decrease in oil specific gravity and viscosity, and an increase in the amounts of lighter distillation fractions for the oil. A simple mathematical model was developed which accounts for the effect of pressure on oil yield. This model also gives oil production curves with time that are in reasonable agreement with measurements made during the current work. Some experiments were conducted using hydrogen sweep gas. Results of this work are also presented.
- Research Organization:
- Laramie Energy Research Center, WY
- OSTI ID:
- 7311679
- Journal Information:
- Am. Chem. Soc., Div. Fuel Chem., Prepr.; (United States), Vol. 21:6; Conference: American Chemical Society meeting, San Francisco, CA, USA, 29 Aug 1976; Other Information: See CONF-760826--P3
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
OIL SHALES
RETORTING
BENCH-SCALE EXPERIMENTS
COKE
CONTROLLED ATMOSPHERES
DIAGRAMS
GAS YIELDS
GASES
HEATING RATE
HIGH PRESSURE
HIGH TEMPERATURE
HYDROGEN
MATHEMATICAL MODELS
MEDIUM PRESSURE
NITROGEN
OIL YIELDS
PRESSURE DEPENDENCE
TABLES
VERY HIGH TEMPERATURE
ATMOSPHERES
BITUMINOUS MATERIALS
CARBONACEOUS MATERIALS
CRYOGENIC FLUIDS
ELEMENTS
ENERGY SOURCES
FLUIDS
FOSSIL FUELS
FUELS
INFORMATION
NONMETALS
YIELDS
040402* - Oil Shales & Tar Sands- Surface Methods