Scoping of fusion-driven retorting of oil shale
In the time frame beyond 2005, fusion reactors are likely to make their first appearance when the oil shale industry will probably be operating with 20% of the production derived from surface retorts operating on deep mined shale from in situ retorts and 80% from shale retorted within these in situ retorts using relatively fine shale uniformly rubblized by expensive mining methods. A process was developed where fusion reactors supply a 600/sup 0/C mixture of nitrogen, carbon dioxide, and water vapor to both surface and in situ retorts. The in situ production is accomplished by inert gas retorting, without oxygen, avoiding the burning of oil released from the larger shale particles produced in a simpler mining method. These fusion reactor-heated gases retort the oil from four 50x50x200m in-situ rubble beds at high rate of 40m/d and high yield (i.e., 95% F.A.), which provided high return on investment around 20% for the syncrude selling at $20/bbl, or 30% if sold as $30/bbl for heating oil. The bed of 600/sup 0/C retorted shale, or char, left behind was then burned by the admission of ambient air in order to recover all of the possible energy from the shale resource. The hot combustion gases, mostly nitrogen, carbon dioxide and water vapor are then heat-exchanged with fusion reactor blanket coolant flow to be sequentially introduced into the next rubble bed ready for retorting. The advantages of this fusion-driven retorting process concept are a cheaper mining method, high yield and higher production rate system, processing with shale grades down to 50 l/mg (12 gpt), improved resource recovery by complete char utilization and low energy losses by leaving behind a cold, spent bed.
- Research Organization:
- California Univ., Livermore (USA). Lawrence Livermore Lab.
- DOE Contract Number:
- W-7405-ENG-48
- OSTI ID:
- 5748992
- Report Number(s):
- UCRL-83006; CONF-791102-69; TRN: 80-004366
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: 8. symposium on engineering problems of fusion research, San Francisco, CA, USA, 13 Nov 1979
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Indirect in-situ retorting of oil shale using the TREE /SUP sm/ process
Sandia Laboratories tries out new approach to in-situ oil shale retorting in Wyoming
Related Subjects
70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY
OIL SHALES
RETORTING
THERMONUCLEAR REACTORS
PROCESS HEAT
CARBON DIOXIDE
COMBUSTION
ECONOMIC ANALYSIS
FEASIBILITY STUDIES
IN-SITU RETORTING
NITROGEN
SPENT SHALES
WATER VAPOR
BITUMINOUS MATERIALS
CARBON COMPOUNDS
CARBON OXIDES
CARBONACEOUS MATERIALS
CHALCOGENIDES
CHEMICAL REACTIONS
CRYOGENIC FLUIDS
ECONOMICS
ELEMENTS
ENERGY
ENERGY SOURCES
FLUIDS
FOSSIL FUELS
FUELS
GASES
HEAT
IN-SITU PROCESSING
NONMETALS
OXIDATION
OXIDES
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
PROCESSING
ROCKS
SEDIMENTARY ROCKS
SHALES
THERMOCHEMICAL PROCESSES
VAPORS
040401* - Oil Shales & Tar Sands- In Situ Methods
True & Modified
060300 - Fusion Fuels- By-Products- (-1987)