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U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Apparatus for recovery of different weight fractions of oil from shale

Patent ·
OSTI ID:6155697

An oil shale retorting method and apparatus moves a bed of oil bearing shale particles along a generally horizontal path and passes through the bed at spaced points a plurality of discrete nonoxidizing gas streams heated to different oil educting temperatures to vaporize and educe different weight fractions of oil from the kerogen in the shale into the gas streams. Preferably the heated gas streams are also passed through the moving shale bed upstream from distillation of the volatile oil constituents to preheat the shale particles and condense the educted oils which become suspended as stable mists and are mechanically separated from the gas streams. Heat energy is preferably removed from the spent shale particles of the moving bed by burning them with combustion air downstream from the retorting sites, and such heat energy is transferred to the nonoxidizing streams to raise them to different oil educting temperatures before they are passed through the moving bed to educe oil from the shale particles.

Assignee:
Allis-Chalmers Corp.
Patent Number(s):
US 4461674
OSTI ID:
6155697
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English