Current developments in oil shale research at the Laramie Energy Research Center. [Review of studies in 4 areas: concurrent gasification and retorting; high pressure retorting; abnormal heating rate of interior of large blocks of oil shale; and in-situ combustion]

Conference · Thu Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1976

OSTI ID:7359734

Jacobson, Jr, I A; Burwell, E L; Harak, A E; Long, A; Wise, R L

Current oil shale research being conducted at the Laramie Energy Research Center is many faceted, and some of the recent developments in these areas are presented. Concurrent gasification and retorting of oil shale where the effects of operating pressure and amounts of oxygen and water injection on quality and quantity of gas and oil produced is being studied. This work has resulted in off gas with heating values varying from 50 to 1,300 Btu/ft/sup 3/ and oil recovery of up to 80 vol percent of Fischer assay. The effects of retorting atmosphere, pressure, and external heating rate are being studied in a high pressure batch retort. Results from this work indicate that a nitrogen atmosphere decreases oil yield slightly while a hydrogen atmosphere increases the oil yield significantly. Large blocks of oil shale are being retorted in a 150-ton aboveground retort to study the abnormal heating rate of the interior of the blocks. This could be caused by an oxidation exotherm similar to that found in limited DTA studies. Some early results from the Rock Springs site 9 in-situ experiment are also presented. This is the fifth in-situ combustion experiment and is being performed in a 40-foot-thick oil shale bed having an average Fischer assay of 23 gallons per ton.

• Research Organization: Energy Research and Development Administration, Laramie, Wyo. (USA). Laramie Energy Research Center
• OSTI ID: 7359734
• Report Number(s): CONF-760342-4
• 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
040500 -- Oil Shales & Tar Sands-- Properties & Composition
ATMOSPHERES
BENCH-SCALE EXPERIMENTS
BITUMINOUS MATERIALS
CARBONACEOUS MATERIALS
COMBUSTION HEAT
COMMINUTION
CONFIGURATION
CRYOGENIC FLUIDS
DOCUMENT TYPES
ELEMENTS
ENERGY
ENERGY SOURCES
ENTHALPY
FLUIDS
FOSSIL FUELS
FRACTURING
FUELS
GASIFICATION
HEAT
HIGH PRESSURE
HYDROGEN
HYDROGEN COMPOUNDS
IN-SITU PROCESSING
LARAMIE ENERGY RESEARCH CENTER
MEDIUM PRESSURE
NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
NITROGEN
NONMETALS
NORTH AMERICA
OIL SHALES
OIL YIELDS
OXYGEN
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
PRESSURE DEPENDENCE
PROCESSING
REACTION HEAT
RESEARCH PROGRAMS
RETORTING
REVIEWS
REVIEWS ATMOSPHERES
ROCK SPRINGS SITES
ROCKY MOUNTAIN REGION
THERMODYNAMIC PROPERTIES
US ERDA
US ORGANIZATIONS
USA
WATER
WYOMING
YIELDS