In situ retorting

Unishale B United States IH (gas) In situ retorting coarse cc... 

OIL SAND - FIRE /STEAM FLOOD COAL-IN SITU GASIFICATION SHALE - IN SITU RETORT... 

In Situ Retorting—A Pilot Study, J. Petrol. Technol. (1970) 1520. 

Purpose. The first research program designed to recover shale oil by in situ combustion was planned for Rock Springs site 4. Little information has been published about in situ retorting methods for production... 

In situ retorting offers the possibility of eliminating the problems associated with the disposal of large quantities of spent shale that occur with surface retorting. True in situ (TIS) retorting involves fracturing the shale in place, ignit-... 

Oil shale represents an enormous reserve of fossil fuel for domestic and foreign needs (1,2). Shale oil production can be divided into direct and indirect heating processes (2). In direct heating, some of the products or some other fuel is combusted to raise the oil shale to the necessary temperature for conversion to gas and oil while an indirect process transfers heat from an outside source. Although high yields have been demonstrated in some indirect procedures (3), the application to in situ retorting has been limited. Direct processes developed for in situ recovery of shale oil have not demonstrated sufficient control of the underground combustion for reliable operation. 

Table V. Trace and Minor Elements in Oil Shale Retorting Materials from the Lawrence Livermore Laboratory s 125-kg Simulated in Situ Retort (in ppm) Average of 4 Splits...

Mineralogy-Groundwater Quality A Study of In-situ Retorted... 

Enhanced Oil Recovery Oil Shale, Surface and In-Situ Retorting "Coal Liquification... 

These are most worthy goals, but past procrastination will make them difficult to attain. It should not be surprising that in situ retorting is still in its early development stage that a single, commercial surface retort module has yet to be constructed and successfully demonstrated or that a full slate of products refined from syncrude has still to be proven acceptably interchangeable with those derived from petroleum. 

Retort Control Procedures. The development of retort control and operating procedures is crucial to the success of both in situ and modified in situ retorting of oil shale. The R,D D effort will establish a set of baseline operating plans from data collected from laboratory experiments, field tests and the outputs of predictive models. From the data collected, an evaluation will be made on the effects of intermittent air flows, liquid water additions, and other control parameters. 

The naphthalene/2-methylnaphthalene ratio in oils from combustion retorts in which a significant amount of oil burning has occurred is substantially higher than the ratio in assay oil. This indicates that most cracking in in-situ retorts occurs at high temperatures associated with combustion. Preferential oxidation of alkyl aromatics may also contribute. At these high... 

Johnson, W. F. Walton, D. K. Keller, H. H. Couch, E. J. "In-Situ Retorting of Oil Shale Rubble A Model of Heat Transfer and Product Formation in Oil Shale Particles, Colorado School of Mines Quart. 1975, 70, 237. 

Characterization of a Shale Oil Produced by In-Situ Retorting," ACS Div. Fuel Chem. Preprint 1971, JL5(1), 113. 

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