Production of spent shales by simulation of surface oil shale retorting processes

Technical Report · Sat Aug 01 04:00:00 EDT 1987

OSTI ID:5990298

Merriam, N W; Cha, Chang Yul; Sullivan, S

This report documents sources of the raw shale and the processing conditions used to produce spent shale for solid waste studies. Fourteen bathes of spent shale were produced for these studies, seven from 1986 eastern reference oil shale and seven from 1986 western reference oil shale. Spent shales representing those produced in surface processes characterized by low heating rates, large particle sizes, and long residence times were produced in the fixed-bed Paraho batch pilot plant. Spent shales representing those produced with high heating rates, small particles, and short residence times were produced in an inclined fluid bed reactor built by Western Research Institute. The processing conditions were varied to include both direct and indirect retorting. The gas composition, heating rate, maximum temperature, and residence time typical of known oil shale surface retorting processes were used to produce these spent shales. Also, some shale was exposed to temperatures above 1600/sup 0/F (870/sup 0/C) to study changes in the composition of certain minerals and to create a combination of high temperature and oxidizing atmosphere to produce spent shale with very low residual organic carbon content. Conclusions are as follows: (1) The residual organic carbon and sulfur content of spent shales processed in air in an inclined fluid bed are lower than the residual organic carbon and sulfur content of spent shales processed in air in a fixed bed. (2) The residual organic carbon content of shales from the direct retorting of eastern shale is higher than the residual organic carbon content of spent shales from the direct retorting of western shale. (3) The residual sulfur content of retorted eastern shale is higher than the residual sulfur content of retorted western shale. (4) The highest sulfur, organic carbon, and nitrogen content is produced in the spent shale by retorting with recycle gas. 9 refs., 18 figs., 6 tabs.

• Research Organization: Western Research Inst., Laramie, WY (USA)
• DOE Contract Number: FC21-83FE60177
• OSTI ID: 5990298
• Report Number(s): DOE/FE/60177-2439; ON: DE88002173
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

04 OIL SHALES AND TAR SANDS
040402* -- Oil Shales & Tar Sands-- Surface Methods
040500 -- Oil Shales & Tar Sands-- Properties & Composition
040900 -- Oil Shales & Tar Sands-- Waste management
BITUMINOUS MATERIALS
CARBONACEOUS MATERIALS
CHEMICAL COMPOSITION
CHEMICAL REACTIONS
COMPARATIVE EVALUATIONS
DATA
DECOMPOSITION
DIAGRAMS
ENERGY SOURCES
EXPERIMENTAL DATA
FLOWSHEETS
FLUIDIZED BEDS
FOSSIL FUELS
FUELS
GAS ANALYSIS
HEATING RATE
HIGH TEMPERATURE
INFORMATION
MATERIALS
NUMERICAL DATA
OIL SHALES
PARAHO PROCESS
PARTICLE SIZE
PRODUCTION
RETORTING
SIMULATION
SIZE
SPENT SHALES
TEMPERATURE EFFECTS
TIME DEPENDENCE
VERY HIGH TEMPERATURE
YIELDS