Trace elements in oil shale. Progress report, 1976--1979

Technical Report · Mon Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1979

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/6243919· OSTI ID:6243919

Chappell, W R

The overall objective of the program is to evaluate the environmental and health consequences of the release of toxic trace elements (As, B, F, Mo, Se) by shale oil production and use. Some of the particularly significant results are: The baseline geochemical survey shows that stable trace elements maps can be constructed for numerous elements and that the trends observed are related to geologic and climatic factors. Shale retorted by above-ground processes tends to be very homogeneous (both in space and in time) in trace element content. This implies that the number of analytical determinations required of processed shales is not large. Leachate studies show that significant amounts of B, F, And Mo are released from retorted shales and while B and Mo are rapidly flushed out, F is not. On the other hand, As, Se, and most other trace elements ae not present in significant quantities. Significant amounts of F and B are also found in leachates of raw shales. Very large concentrations of reduced sulfur species are found in leachates of processed shale. Upon oxidation a drastic lowering in pH is observed. Preliminary data indicates that this oxidation is catalyzed by bacteria. Very high levels of B and Mo are taken up in some plants growing on processed shale with and without soil cover. These amounts depend upon the process and various site specific characteristics. In general, the amounts taken up decrease with increasing soil cover. On the other hand, we have not observed significant uptake of As, Se, and F into plants. There is a tendency for some trace elements to associate with specific organic fractions, indicating that organic chelation or complexation may play an important role. In particular, most of the Cd, Se, and Cr in shale oil is associated with the organic fraction containing most of the nitrogen-containing compounds.

• Research Organization: Colorado Univ., Boulder (USA)
• DOE Contract Number: EY-76-S-02-4017
• OSTI ID: 6243919
• Report Number(s): COO-4017-3
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

04 OIL SHALES AND TAR SANDS
040500 -- Oil Shales & Tar Sands-- Properties & Composition
041000* -- Oil Shales & Tar Sands-- Environmental Aspects
ARSENIC
BIOLOGICAL ACCUMULATION
BITUMINOUS MATERIALS
BORON
CARBONACEOUS MATERIALS
CHEMICAL COMPOSITION
CHEMISTRY
COLORADO
DISSOLUTION
ELEMENTS
ENERGY SOURCES
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS
FLUORINE
FOSSIL FUELS
FUELS
GEOCHEMISTRY
HALOGENS
HYDROGEN COMPOUNDS
LEACHING
METALS
METAMORPHIC ROCKS
MINERAL OILS
MOLYBDENUM
NONMETALS
NORTH AMERICA
OIL SHALES
OILS
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
OTHER ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
PLANTS
REFRACTORY METALS
RESEARCH PROGRAMS
ROCKS
ROCKY MOUNTAIN REGION
SEDIMENTS
SELENIUM
SEMIMETALS
SEPARATION PROCESSES
SHALE OIL
SHALES
SOILS
SPENT SHALES
SYNTHETIC FUELS
SYNTHETIC PETROLEUM
TOXICITY
TRACE AMOUNTS
TRANSITION ELEMENTS
UPTAKE
USA
WATER