Retorting oil shale with zones of contrasting permeability Runs S76 and S77

Technical Report · Mon Apr 01 04:00:00 EST 1985

OSTI ID:5502400

Merriam, N W; Long, A; Gardner, G W; Wing, E E

Work is under way to develop relationships between yield and permeability distribution to better understand the impact of nonuniform oil shale particle size and void distribution within in situ retorts. Nonuniform permeability causes nonuniform flow which creates uneven retorting fronts that result in low oil yields. This report describes results of tests S76 and S77, the sixth and seventh in a series of nine tests designed to establish relationships between nonuniform rubble properties and shale oil yields from in situ oil shale retorts. Zones of permeability contrast and the resultant nonuniform retorting gas flow patterns are simulated by loading adjacent zones of the test retort with differing size distributions of oil shale particles. Test S76 simulated a small zone with slightly contrasting permeability and S77 simulated a larger zone with greatly contrasting permeability. Retorting gas flow at the reactor inlet and shale grade were held constant over the series of tests making basic particle properties of size, size distribution, and void space the only variables in the test series. This work indicates that even a small amount of permeability contrast has a large impact upon oil yield from modified in situ retorts. A small amount of nonuniformity in distribution of permeability is a more significant determinant of shale oil yield than retorting gas flow rate and composition. 11 refs., 14 figs., 12 tabs.

• Research Organization: Western Research Inst., Laramie, WY (USA)
• DOE Contract Number: FC21-83FE60177
• OSTI ID: 5502400
• Report Number(s): DOE/FE/60177-1885; ON: DE85012054
• 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
CORRELATIONS
DATA
DECOMPOSITION
DISTRIBUTION
ENERGY SOURCES
EXPERIMENTAL DATA
FOSSIL FUELS
FUELS
IN-SITU PROCESSING
IN-SITU RETORTING
INFORMATION
MATERIALS
MATHEMATICAL MODELS
MODIFIED IN-SITU PROCESSES
NUMERICAL DATA
OIL SHALES
OIL YIELDS
PARTICLE SIZE
PERMEABILITY
PROCESSING
RETORTING
SIZE
SPATIAL DISTRIBUTION
THEORETICAL DATA
YIELDS