Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory oil shale: Quarterly report, October-December 1987

Technical Report · Fri Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1988

OSTI ID:5461144

Lewis, A E ^[1]

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1. ed.

A unique mass spectrometry (MS) method for the study of water formation during oil shale batch pyrolysis was recently discussed. Water evolution observations differ from what others have reported, necessitating a detailed quality assurance study. That study is discussed in this report, along with the water calibration techniques that have been used to obtain quantitative data from our Triple Quadrupole Mass Spectrometer (TQMS) - which normally provides qualitative information. The rate of pyrolysis of raw shale and the rate of combustion of retorted shale in a new apparatus which allows C and H mass balances have been measured. Thus, the fraction of the raw shale organic C that is pyrolyzed and burned can be measured. The shale sample is fluidized with an inert gas which sweeps the pyrolysis gases out of the pyrolyzer and into a tube furnace where they are burned with oxygen. The concentrations of carbon dioxide and steam produced by this oxidation are measured on-line by means of a mass spectrometer. Following pyrolysis, the organic C and H which remain in the retorted shale are burned in the same fluidized bed by adding oxygen to the fluidizing gas. An experiment has also been conducted to find out if indeed Green River shale can be retorted in half the time generally used. The LLNL pilot retort was used, and the pyrolysis appears to have been completed when pyrolysis time at 500/sup 0/ was reduced from 3 m to 1.5 m. The evidence is the fact that the combustor temperature, which is sensitive to the carbon content of the retorted shale, did not increase when pyrolysis time was reduced.

• Research Organization: Lawrence Livermore National Lab., CA (USA)
• DOE Contract Number: W-7405-ENG-48
• OSTI ID: 5461144
• Report Number(s): UCID-16986-87-4; ON: DE88006777
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

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47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION
ARGON
BENCH-SCALE EXPERIMENTS
BITUMINOUS MATERIALS
CALIBRATION
CARBON
CARBONACEOUS MATERIALS
CHEMICAL ANALYSIS
CHEMICAL REACTION YIELD
CHEMICAL REACTIONS
COMBUSTION
DATA
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DOCUMENT TYPES
ELEMENTS
ENERGY SOURCES
EXPERIMENTAL DATA
FEDERAL REGION IV
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HIGH TEMPERATURE
HYDROGEN
HYDROGEN COMPOUNDS
INFORMATION
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MASS SPECTROMETERS
MATERIALS
MEASURING INSTRUMENTS
NONMETALS
NORTH AMERICA
NUMERICAL DATA
OIL SHALES
OXIDATION
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
PROGRESS REPORT
PYROLYSIS
QUANTITATIVE CHEMICAL ANALYSIS
RARE GASES
RESOLUTION
RETORTING
SENSITIVITY
SPECTROMETERS
TEMPERATURE MEASUREMENT
THERMOCHEMICAL PROCESSES
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WATER
YIELDS