Conceptual design of combined in-situ and surface retorting of oil shale

Conference · Sun Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1978

OSTI ID:6928980

Berry, K L

Under the four-year development program for modified in-situ oil shale retorting, Rio Blanco Oil Shale Co. will burn five underground retorts, 140-400 ft high, in 1979-1982, and may build a 50,000 bbl/day commercial plant in 1982-1986. Modified in-situ retorting which combines mining and extracting, for surface retorting, approx. 20% of the shale and in-situ retorting of the remaining shale, minimizes mining work, halves water consumption, almost eliminates land disturbance, and is expected to reduce front-end investment and operating cost, as compared with open-pit retorting. However, because of the large gas circulation, approx. 25% of the energy will be produced as 75-100 Btu/cu ft gas. The only commercial use of this gas appears to be for driving a gas turbine at the retorting site. Current estimates show that only 2 million bbl of oil would be recovered from the prototype tract vs. approx. 5 million bbl by open-pit mining, but secondary recovery could increase this volume in the future. Surface subsidence and leaching into the retorts can probably be prevented by reinjecting the spend shale as a slurry into burned out underground retorts. Technological schemes of modified in-situ retorting are discussed. Diagrams and table.

• OSTI ID: 6928980
• 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
040402 -- Oil Shales & Tar Sands-- Surface Methods
29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY
290500 -- Energy Planning & Policy-- Research
Development
Demonstration
& Commercialization
BITUMINOUS MATERIALS
CARBONACEOUS MATERIALS
CHEMICAL REACTIONS
COMPARATIVE EVALUATIONS
COST
COST BENEFIT ANALYSIS
DECOMPOSITION
EFFICIENCY
ENERGY SOURCES
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS
FEASIBILITY STUDIES
FOSSIL FUELS
FUELS
GROUND SUBSIDENCE
IN-SITU PROCESSING
IN-SITU RETORTING
INDUSTRIAL PLANTS
MATERIALS
MINING
OIL SHALE MINING
OIL SHALE PROCESSING PLANTS
OIL SHALES
OPERATING COST
PROCESSING
RESEARCH PROGRAMS
RETORTING
SURFACE MINING
TECHNOLOGY ASSESSMENT