Improving flow uniformity in vertical modified in situ oil shale retorts

Conference · Fri Apr 01 04:00:00 EST 1983 · Oil Shale Symp. Proc.; (United States)

OSTI ID:5286583

Ricketts, T E

In the past, vertical modified in situ (VMIS) retorts have been designed and constructed to produce rubble beds having uniform rubble properties which would thus give uniformity of flow within the beds. This uniform rubble bed approach strived to produce constant void fraction and particle size within all regions of the rubble bed after blasting. Thus, it was assumed that the retort edge effects due to blasting which may affect both particle size and void fraction around the chamber perimeter, would be eliminated using suitable blasting techniques. The retorts 7 and 8 blast results showed a definite improvement in rubble bed uniformity over retort 6, but edge effects in the form of higher permeability were still produced. The retorts 7 and 8 blasting design reduced the area of influence of the edge effects to a fairly narrow band around the perimeter of the retorts which resulted in a much larger, more uniform central region than was obtained in retort 6. Additionally, the values of the void fraction in the perimeter and central regions were closer to one another for retorts 7 and 8 than they were for retort 6. This type of rubble bed has resulted in an improved retorting performance compared to retort 6, but there is still significant incentive for improving rubble bed uniformity in order to further increase MIS oil yield values. The data necessary to design rubble beds that exhibit a uniform flow distribution now exists, much of it from full-scale retort results, using a newly developed uniform flow approach.

• Research Organization: Cathedral Bluffs Shale Oil Co., Grand Junction, CO
• OSTI ID: 5286583
• Report Number(s): CONF-830434-
• Conference Information: Journal Name: Oil Shale Symp. Proc.; (United States)
• 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
CHEMICAL REACTORS
COMBUSTION CONTROL
COMMINUTION
CONTROL
DECOMPOSITION
DISTILLATION EQUIPMENT
DISTRIBUTION
ELEMENTS
ENERGY SOURCES
EQUIPMENT
EXPLOSIVE FRACTURING
FLUID FLOW
FOSSIL FUELS
FRACTURING
FUELS
IN-SITU PROCESSING
IN-SITU RETORTING
MATERIALS
MODIFIED IN-SITU PROCESSES
NONMETALS
OIL SHALES
OXYGEN
PARTICLE SIZE
PROCESSING
RETORTING
RETORTS
SIZE
SPATIAL DISTRIBUTION
VOID FRACTION