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Title: Organic constituents in process water from the in-situ retorting of oil from oil-shale kerogen

Technical Report ·
DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/6783994· OSTI ID:6783994

Capillary-column gas-chromatography/mass-spectrometry (GC/MS) was performed on the acid, base, and neutral fractions of liquid- and particulate-phase methylene chloride extracts of a composite sample of raw process water collected from separator Tank 6 by the Laramie Energy Technology Center. Of the 160 extractable and chromatographable organic compounds tentatively identified, the following compound classes were found (listed in decreasing order of abundance): quinolines and lower fatty acids, aminoindoles, neutral oxygenated heterocyclics, pyridines, pyrroles, pyrazoles, phenols, and alkanes. Noticeably absent or in low concentration were alkyl benzenes and alkenes. Assuming 100% extraction efficiency, these organics constitute approximately 0.035% of the retort water; approximately 50% of this amount is represented by the quinolines, fatty acids, aminoindoles, and oxygenated heterocyclics. The following differences were noted in the composition of the particulate and liquid extracts of the neutral and base fractions, respectively: (1) alkanes are a major portion of the particulates, whereas oxygenated hereocyclics are most prominent in the liquid; and (2) aminoindoles are only a minor portion of the particulates, but are prominent in the liquid phase. The concentration of a compound occurring in both the liquid and particulate extracts is approximately 40 to 100 times higher in the liquid than in the particulate extract.

Research Organization:
Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE
DOE Contract Number:
W-31-109-ENG-38
OSTI ID:
6783994
Report Number(s):
ANL/PAG-5
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English