Oil shales energy source development. Final report
Oil shales represents the United States' second (after coal) most abundant fossil energy source. The Green River deposits in the West and the Devonian deposits in the East/Great Lakes are the principal oil shale deposits. This paper discusses in depth: the technology of recovering shale oil (retorting either above ground or in situ); refining of shale oil by hydrotreating and/or cracking; environmental impacts of retorting oil shales; economic analysis of shale oil refinery; and military applications of middle distillates from shale oils. At present the Parachute Creek, Colorado project of the Union Oil Company is the only active commercial scale shale oil project in operation. Union is building a 10,000 barrel per day plant at a cost of $600 million. The plant will be completed by midyear and be in operation by the end of 1983. The Department of Defense is guaranteeing a price of at least $42.50/barrel for the finished product, JP-4 jet fuel and diesel fuel made to military specifications. The overall conclusion that can be reached is that state-of-the-art, commercially practical refining processes are available to produce high quality fuels from shale oil at a cost which should make this resource a highly important part of our energy supply and therefore of our national security.
- Research Organization:
- Wyoming Univ., Laramie (USA)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AS20-81LC10758
- OSTI ID:
- 6478317
- Report Number(s):
- DOE/LC/10758-T1; ON: DE83006602
- Resource Relation:
- Other Information: Portions are illegible in microfiche products
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
OIL SHALE INDUSTRY
ECONOMIC ANALYSIS
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS
OIL SHALES
RETORTING
SHALE OIL
REFINING
USA
OIL SHALE DEPOSITS
DEVONIAN PERIOD
GREEN RIVER FORMATION
IN-SITU RETORTING
OIL SHALE PROCESSING PLANTS
TECHNOLOGY ASSESSMENT
UNION OIL PROCESS
BITUMINOUS MATERIALS
CARBONACEOUS MATERIALS
CHEMICAL REACTIONS
DECOMPOSITION
ECONOMICS
ENERGY SOURCES
FOSSIL FUELS
FUELS
GEOLOGIC AGES
GEOLOGIC DEPOSITS
IN-SITU PROCESSING
INDUSTRIAL PLANTS
INDUSTRY
MATERIALS
MINERAL OILS
MINERAL RESOURCES
NORTH AMERICA
OILS
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
OTHER ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
PALEOZOIC ERA
PROCESSING
RESOURCES
040400* - Oil Shales & Tar Sands- Oil Production
Recovery
& Refining
040800 - Oil Shales & Tar Sands- Economics
Industrial
& Business Aspects
041000 - Oil Shales & Tar Sands- Environmental Aspects