Process for recovering products from oil shale

Patent · Tue Apr 13 04:00:00 EST 1982

OSTI ID:5170918

Jacobs, H R; Udell, K S

A process is claimed for recovering hydrocarbon products from a body of fragmented or rubblized oil shale. The process includes initiating a combustion zone adjacent the lower end of a body of oil shale and using the thermal energy therefrom for volatilizing the shale oil from the oil shale above the combustion front. Improved recovery of hydrocarbon products is realized by refluxing the heavier fractions in the volatilized shale oil. The heavier fractions are refluxed by condensing the heavier fractions and allowing the resulting condensate to flow downwardly toward the combustion front. Thermal energy from the combustion zone cracks the condensate producing additional lower molecular weight fractions and a carbonaceous residue. The carbonaceous residue is burned in the combustion front to supply the thermal energy. The temperature of the combustion front is maintained by regulating input of oxygen to the combustion zone. The process also includes sweeping the volatilized products from the rubblized oil shale with a noncombustible gas. The flow rate of sweep gas is also controlled to regulate the temperature of the combustion front. The recovered products can be enriched with hydrogen by using water vapor as part of the noncombustible sweep gas and cracking the water vapor with the hot carbon in the combustion front to produce hydrogen and an oxide of carbon.

• Assignee: Utah, University of
• Patent Number(s): US 4324292
• OSTI ID: 5170918
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

04 OIL SHALES AND TAR SANDS
040401* -- Oil Shales & Tar Sands-- In Situ Methods
True & Modified
BITUMINOUS MATERIALS
CARBONACEOUS MATERIALS
CHEMICAL REACTIONS
COMBUSTION
COMBUSTION WAVES
ENERGY
ENERGY SOURCES
ENHANCED RECOVERY
EVAPORATION
FOSSIL FUELS
FUELS
HEAT
IN-SITU COMBUSTION
IN-SITU PROCESSING
MATERIALS
MINERAL OILS
OIL SHALES
OILS
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
OTHER ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
OXIDATION
PHASE TRANSFORMATIONS
PROCESSING
RECOVERY
SHALE OIL
THERMAL RECOVERY
THERMOCHEMICAL PROCESSES