Use of high-boiling alcohols to produce shale oil from Green River shale

Technical Report · Fri Mar 01 04:00:00 EST 1985

OSTI ID:6363722

McKay, J F; Blanche, M S

This report describes the results of experiments in which Green River shale was treated with mono-, di-, or trifunctional alcohols in an attempt to produce high oil yields under lower pressure treatment conditions. The experiment using 1,2-ethanediol (ethylene glycol) and water resulted in a yield of 81 weight percent based on recovered liquid organic matter, a yield equivalent ro 124% of Fischer assay. The experiments using other di- and trifunctional alcohols were not successful in recovering large amounts of oil from the shale. The 1, 2-ethanediol experiments suggests that it may be possible to recover oil from shale in yields much higher than those of conventional retorting precesses at pressures well below supercritical methanol-water. Solvents with boiling points up to 200C, such as n-octanol boiling at 194C and 1,2-ethanediol boiling at 198C, can be removed from liquid product using rotary evaporation under reduced pressure. Higher-boiling alcohols such as glycerin and diethylene glycol would probably not be satisfactory solvents even if recoveries were high because of complicated separation requirements. 10 refs., 1 tab.

• Research Organization: Western Research Inst., Laramie, WY (USA)
• DOE Contract Number: FC21-83FE60177
• OSTI ID: 6363722
• Report Number(s): DOE/FE/60177-1941; ON: DE86000310
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

04 OIL SHALES AND TAR SANDS
040402* -- Oil Shales & Tar Sands-- Surface Methods
ALCOHOLS
AUTOCLAVES
BITUMINOUS MATERIALS
CARBONACEOUS MATERIALS
COAL LIQUEFACTION
DATA
ENERGY SOURCES
EXPERIMENTAL DATA
EXTRACTION
FOSSIL FUELS
FUELS
GEOLOGIC FORMATIONS
GLYCOLS
GREEN RIVER FORMATION
HIGH TEMPERATURE
HYDROXY COMPOUNDS
INFORMATION
LIQUEFACTION
MATERIALS
MINERAL OILS
NUMERICAL DATA
OCTANOLS
OIL SHALES
OILS
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
OTHER ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
SEPARATION PROCESSES
SHALE OIL
SOLVENT EXTRACTION
SUPERCRITICAL GAS EXTRACTION
THERMOCHEMICAL PROCESSES
YIELDS