Process for oil shale retorting using gravity-driven solids flow and solid-solid heat exchange

Patent · Tue Jul 22 04:00:00 EDT 1986

OSTI ID:5484807

Lewis, A E; Braun, R L; Mallon, R G; Walton, O R

A method for retorting oil shale is described wherein the oil shale particles are not uniform in size, and can include fines, comprising: burning residual char in particles of spent shale to heat the shale to a temperature greater than the pyrolysis temperature of raw shale; producing a continuous cascading gravity-flow of a non-fluidized layer of particles of cold raw shale and hot burned shale; segregating the particles by size in the following layer with smaller particles moving to the bottom of the layer and larger particles to the top; inverting the layer of particles so that the smaller particles are on the top of the layer and larger particles on the bottom.

• Assignee: Dept. of Energy, Washington, DC
• Patent Number(s): US 4601811
• OSTI ID: 5484807
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

04 OIL SHALES AND TAR SANDS
040402* -- Oil Shales & Tar Sands-- Surface Methods
BAFFLES
BITUMINOUS MATERIALS
CARBONACEOUS MATERIALS
CHARS
CHEMICAL REACTIONS
CONTROL
CONTROL EQUIPMENT
DECOMPOSITION
DISPERSIONS
ENERGY SOURCES
ENERGY TRANSFER
EQUIPMENT
FLOW REGULATORS
FLUID FLOW
FLUIDIZED BEDS
FOSSIL FUELS
FUELS
GRAVITATION
HEAT TRANSFER
HEATING
LAYERS
MATERIALS
MIXING
MIXTURES
OIL SHALE FINES
OIL SHALES
PACKED BED
PARTICLE SIZE
PYROLYSIS
PYROLYSIS PRODUCTS
RETORTING
SIZE
SOLIDS FLOW
SPENT SHALES
TEMPERATURE CONTROL
THERMOCHEMICAL PROCESSES
TIME DEPENDENCE