Skip to main content
U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Thermal decomposition of Colorado and Kentucky reference oil shales

Technical Report ·
OSTI ID:6465262
Isothermal pyrolysis studies have been conducted on a Green River Formation oil shale from Colorado and a New Albany oil shale from Kentucky. The conversion of kerogen to bitumen, oil, gas, and residue products was obtained for different isothermal reaction times in the temperature range of 375/degree/C to 440/degree/C (707/degree/ to 824/degree/F) using a heated sand bath reactor system. Particular attention was paid to the formation of the bitumen intermediate during decomposition of the two shales. The maximum amount of extractable bitumen in the New Albany shale was 14% or less of the original kerogen at any given temperature, indicating that direct conversion of kerogen to oil, gas, and residue products is a major pathway of conversion of this shale during pyrolysis. In contrast, a significant fraction of the Colorado oil shale kerogen was converted to the intermediate bitumen during pyrolysis. The bitumen data imply that the formation of soluble intermediates may depend on original kerogen structure and may be necessary for producing high yields by pyrolysis. 24 refs., 14 figs., 8 tabs.
Research Organization:
Western Research Inst., Laramie, WY (USA)
DOE Contract Number:
FC21-86MC11076
OSTI ID:
6465262
Report Number(s):
DOE/MC/11076-2625; ON: DE88010286
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English