Regional resource assessment and feasibility analysis of fossil energy recovery from Chattanooga (Devonian) oil shale in Alabama and adjacent states. Report of Phase II investigations, final report

Technical Report · Mon Aug 30 04:00:00 EDT 1982

OSTI ID:5323486

An engineering plan and economic evaluation are presented for mining and processing 33,000 tons/day of oil shale at a specific site in Madison county, Alabama. The proposed operation is designed to produce about 10,000 bbl/day of oil from shale containing 13 gal/ton of recoverable oil as determined by the modified Fischer assay method. Disposal of mine overburden and spent shale are included as part of the mining plan. The oil is recovered from the shale using the Paraho retorting process. The estimated capital cost of the integrated mining-processing venture is about $800 million, and the annual operating costs are $71 million. At a projected market value of $40/bbl of shale oil plus an additional revenue of $60 million from sale of process by-products the return on investment from the operation before taxes is estimated to be 13% (late 1981 dollars). In addition to the economic evaluation of the integrated mining and processing operation in northeast Alabama, the progress made in developing innovative methods for processing Eastern oil shale are discussed. The results of three different approaches to extracting the oil are presented. Flotation of an Alabama shale containing 11 gal/ton of oil (Fischer assay) gave a concentrate containing 18 gal/ton of oil with a recovery of 96.6 percent of the oil. A preliminary economic evaluation of the retorting of beneficiated and raw shale indicated that the cost of oil recovered by flotation-retorting is in the range of about $6.50/bbl less than the cost of oil produced by retorting unbeneficiated shale. 26 references, 15 figures, 18 tables.

• Research Organization: Alabama Univ., University (USA). School of Mines and Energy Development
• DOE Contract Number: FG44-80R410200
• OSTI ID: 5323486
• Report Number(s): DOE/R4/10200-T2; ON: DE84005850
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

04 OIL SHALES AND TAR SANDS
040100* -- Oil Shales & Tar Sands-- Reserves & Exploration-- (-1989)
040402 -- Oil Shales & Tar Sands-- Surface Methods
040500 -- Oil Shales & Tar Sands-- Properties & Composition
040800 -- Oil Shales & Tar Sands-- Economics
Industrial
& Business Aspects
ALABAMA
BITUMINOUS MATERIALS
BLACK SHALES
CAPITALIZED COST
CARBONACEOUS MATERIALS
CHATTANOOGA FORMATION
CHEMICAL COMPOSITION
COST
DATA
DATA COMPILATION
DEVONIAN PERIOD
ECONOMIC ANALYSIS
ECONOMICS
ENERGY SOURCES
EXPERIMENTAL DATA
FEDERAL REGION IV
FISCHER ASSAY
FOSSIL FUELS
FUELS
GEOLOGIC AGES
GEOLOGIC DEPOSITS
GEOLOGIC FORMATIONS
INFORMATION
MATERIALS
MINERAL RESOURCES
MINING
NORTH AMERICA
NUMERICAL DATA
OIL SHALE DEPOSITS
OIL SHALE MINING
OIL SHALES
OIL YIELDS
OPERATING COST
PALEOZOIC ERA
PARAHO PROCESS
RESOURCE ASSESSMENT
RESOURCES
USA
YIELDS