Control technology for in-situ oil-shale retorts

Technical Report · Tue Mar 01 04:00:00 EST 1983

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/6325339· OSTI ID:6325339

Persoff, P.; Fox, J. P.

The object of this study was to evaluate control technologies for groundwater pollution resulting from leaching of modified in-situ spent shale. Preliminary engineering analysis was used to identify control technologies which were technically feasible and cost-effective. Process modification, intentional leaching, and retort grouting were further evaluated using numerical modeling and experimental techniques. Numerical simulation of the geohydrology at tracts C-a and C-b was used to determine the flow regime during and after processing, the amount of water available from dewatering, and the time scale of groundwater reinvasion. It was found that reinvasion would take over 200 years and that dewatering flows would probably be insufficient to satisfy water requirements for retort grouting. The formulation of low-cost grouts based on surface-retorted spent shale was studied experimentally. A high-strength hydraulic cement was produced by calcining Lurgi spent shale with an equal amount of CaCO/sub 3/ at 1000 C for 1 h. Electrical conductivity measurements indicated that the leachate from a grouted retort would be more concentrated than that from an ungrouted retort, but the increase in concentration would be more than offset by the reduction in flow. A standard flow-cone test used for grouting of preplaced aggregate concrete was used as the criterion for grout fluidity. This criterion was achieved by inclusion of either 33 percent sand or 0.25 percent lignosulfonate fluidizer in the grout. These grouts were found to be Casson fluids with yield stress values about 60 dyne/cm/sup 2/. Intentional leaching of MIS retorts was evaluated by developing a mass-transfer model of the leaching process. The model was experimentally verified for total organic carbon and used to calculate that 2.1 to 3.4 pore volumes would be needed to reduce leachate concentrations to 10 percent of their initial value.

• Research Organization: Lawrence Berkeley Lab., CA (USA)
• DOE Contract Number: AC03-76SF00098
• OSTI ID: 6325339
• Report Number(s): LBL-14468; ON: DE83011012
• 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
040900 -- Oil Shales & Tar Sands-- Waste management
041000* -- Oil Shales & Tar Sands-- Environmental Aspects
520200 -- Environment
Aquatic-- Chemicals Monitoring & Transport-- (-1989)
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
BACKFILLING
BITUMINOUS MATERIALS
BUILDING MATERIALS
CALCINATION
CARBONACEOUS MATERIALS
CEMENTS
CHEMICAL REACTIONS
CHEMICAL REACTORS
COST
DATA
DECOMPOSITION
DISSOLUTION
DISTILLATION EQUIPMENT
ENERGY SOURCES
EQUIPMENT
EXPERIMENTAL DATA
FOSSIL FUELS
FUELS
GROUND WATER
GROUTING
HYDROGEN COMPOUNDS
IN-SITU PROCESSING
IN-SITU RETORTING
INFORMATION
LEACHING
MATERIALS
MATHEMATICAL MODELS
MODIFIED IN-SITU PROCESSES
NUMERICAL DATA
OIL SHALES
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
POLLUTION ABATEMENT
PROCESSING
PYROLYSIS
RETORTING
RETORTS
SEPARATION PROCESSES
SPENT SHALES
THERMOCHEMICAL PROCESSES
WASTE PRODUCT UTILIZATION
WATER
WATER POLLUTION ABATEMENT