Sulfur trioxide tested for retorting oil shale

Journal Article · Sun Jun 01 04:00:00 EDT 1986 · Pace Synth. Fuels Rep.; (United States)

OSTI ID:7147839

Conventional methods for shale oil production rely on combustion of pyrolysis by-products to supply the heat for retorting. Sulfur trioxide is a potential alternative to combustion air for generating the process heat. By-product sulfur from the shale retorting and oil upgrading operations is easily converted to sulfur trioxide. The potential heat generation with sulfur trioxide is greater than with conventional combustion reactions because the sulfur trioxide reacts exothermically not only with the organic carbon but also with carbonate minerals in the shale. This additional heat generation may facilitate retorting of leaner grade shales which produce less by-product gas and residual carbon for use as process fuel. The sulfur trioxide is also more easily concentrated than atmospheric oxygen, so there is less dilution of the retort gas with inert combustion products. Sulfur trioxide is a strong oxidizer and can react exothermically with both the inorganic and organic constituents of oil shale. To avoid oil degradation, the preferred reactions are those with mineral carbonates and water. These reactions can produce sufficient heat to retort oil shale. However, there are a number of deleterious reactions which can degrade the product oil at retorting temperatures. The deleterious reactions are basically direct oxidation of organic carbon. Other deleterious reactions are sulfonation of aromatic hydrocarbons and olefins. Alkanes do not react readily with sulfur trioxide or concentrated sulfuric acid, but the aromatic hydrocarbons and olefins are easily reacted. These sulfonation reactions badly degrade the production oil by increasing the sulfur concentration.

• OSTI ID: 7147839
• Journal Information: Pace Synth. Fuels Rep.; (United States), Journal Name: Pace Synth. Fuels Rep.; (United States) Vol. 23:2; ISSN PSFRD
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

04 OIL SHALES AND TAR SANDS
040000* -- Oil Shales & Tar Sands
ALKANES
AMINES
ASIA
BITUMINOUS MATERIALS
BOILING POINTS
CARBON COMPOUNDS
CARBONACEOUS MATERIALS
CARBONATES
CHALCOGENIDES
CHEMICAL COMPOSITION
CHEMICAL REACTIONS
COMBUSTION
CORRELATIONS
DATA
DECOMMISSIONING
DECOMPOSITION
DEVELOPING COUNTRIES
DISEASES
ECONOMICS
ELEMENTS
EMISSION
ENERGY SOURCES
EVAPORATION
EXPERIMENTAL DATA
EXTRACTION
FLUIDIZED-BED COMBUSTION
FOSSIL FUELS
FUELS
GASIFICATION
HYDROCARBONS
HYDROGEN PRODUCTION
IN-SITU PROCESSING
IN-SITU RETORTING
INDUSTRIAL PLANTS
INFORMATION
ISRAEL
MANAGEMENT
MATERIALS
METHANE
MIDDLE EAST
MINERAL OILS
MINING
NEOPLASMS
NUMERICAL DATA
OIL SHALE MINING
OIL SHALE PROCESSING PLANTS
OIL SHALES
OILS
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
OTHER ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
OXIDATION
OXIDES
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
PHASE TRANSFORMATIONS
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
POLLUTION
PRESSURE EFFECTS
PROCESSING
PULSE TECHNIQUES
RETORTING
SEPARATION PROCESSES
SHALE OIL
SOLVENT EXTRACTION
SPENT SHALES
SULFUR COMPOUNDS
SULFUR CONTENT
SULFUR OXIDES
SULFUR TRIOXIDE
SUPERCRITICAL GAS EXTRACTION
TEMPERATURE EFFECTS
THERMOCHEMICAL PROCESSES
THERMODYNAMIC PROPERTIES
TRACE AMOUNTS
TRANSITION TEMPERATURE
VENTILATION
WASTE DISPOSAL
WASTE MANAGEMENT
WATER POLLUTION
YIELDS