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Title: Pyrolysis of sunnyside (Utah) tar sand: Characterization of volatile compound evolution

Conference · · Am. Chem. Soc., Div. Pet. Chem., Prepr.; (United States)
OSTI ID:6631744

Tar sand is defined as any sand or rock which is impregnated with heavy oil or bitumen. (This excludes coal, oil shale, and Gilsonite). In the United States alone, there are an estimated 60 billion barrels of bitumen in tar sand, some of which is recoverable. The Sunnyside deposit in Utah accounts for approximately 4.4 billion barrels of recoverable bitumen, making it an attractive deposit for recovery processing. Several commercial concerns have had financial interest in the development of recovery processing, including in-situ thermal (Shell Oil), steam flooding (Signal Oil and Gas), and solvent extraction (AMOCO). Laboratory pyrolysis of a given tar sand is useful in pyrolysis type recovery research, both in-situ and surface. Several laboratory studies have been performed on Sunnyside tar sand, to elucidate its performance - fluidized-bed and fixed-bed pyrolysis, hydropryolysis, hot water and solvent extraction. This paper summarizes the authors' initial efforts in the laboratory pyrolysis of Sunnyside tar sand, and compares the results to the pyrolysis of other domestic tar sands (Asphalt Ridge from Utah and Big Clifty from Kentucky) studied under the same conditions.

Research Organization:
Univ. of California, Lawrence Livermore National Lab., Livermore, CA (US)
OSTI ID:
6631744
Report Number(s):
CONF-880659-
Journal Information:
Am. Chem. Soc., Div. Pet. Chem., Prepr.; (United States), Vol. 33:2; Conference: ACS symposium on advances in oil field chemistry, Toronto, Canada, 5 Jun 1988
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English