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It is a general understanding that unconventional oil is petroleum-extracted and processed into petroleum products using unconventional means. The recent growth in the United States shale oil production and the lack of refineries in Canada built for heavy crude processes have resulted in a significant increase in U.S imports of unconventional oil since 2018. This has increased the risk of incidents and catastrophic emergencies during the transportation of unconventional oils using transmission pipelines and train rails. A great deal of effort has been made to address the remediation of contaminated soil/sediment following the traditional oil spills. However, spill response and cleanup techniques (e.g., oil recuperation, soil-sediment-water treatments) showed slow and inefficient performance when it came to unconventional oil, bringing larger associated environmental impacts in need of investigation. To the best of our knowledge, there is no coherent review available on the biodegradability of unconventional oil, including Dilbit and Bakken oil. Hence, in view of the insufficient information and contrasting results obtained on the remediation of petroleum, this review is an attempt to fill the gap by presenting the collective understanding and critical analysis of the literature on bioremediation of products from the oil sand and shale (e.g., Dilbit and Bakken oil). This can help evaluate the different aspects of hydrocarbon biodegradation and identify the knowledge gaps in the literature.

Oil and gas exploration and development have a long history and remain important in the American West. The region supported 150,000 well completions from 2000 to 2017. In the same timeframe, unconventional oil and gas development in the West’s Niobrara and Bakken formations contributed 28% of United States shale oil production and 14% of shale gas yields. This essay introduces the concept of “impact geography” as a guiding framework for synthesizing literature on social impacts of unconventional oil and gas development and deploys the concept in a review of recent published literature on social impacts in the region. The impact geography approach reflects the fact that that social impacts are generated by, and contingent upon, interactions between economic cycles, geology, technology and local context as they occur in particular spaces and places. This review of social impacts, broadly defined, is organized around three major impact geographies: rural and remote; (sub) urban; and sovereign nations. Within these geographies, we identify a variety of places—boomtowns, industrialized countrysides, borderlands, petro-suburbs, and focusing sites —and survey the impacts that stakeholders within them have experienced as they have been reported in the academic literature.

Shale to liquid (STL) and syngas to liquid (GTL) fuel techniques are applied to vast discovered resources of oil shale to fulfil current and future liquid fuel demands. To utilize the different constituents of oil shale efficiently, cases 1 and 2 were designed to produce liquid fuels and hydrogen as end products. In case 1, which produces shale oil and retorting gas from oil shale that are further processed by shale oil hydrogenation and retorting gas steam reforming to produce liquid fuels and hydrogen, respectively. For comparison, case 2, including oil-shale retorting, retorting gas steam reforming, shale oil hydrogenation, and Fischer–Tropsch synthesis technology, was also established. Cases 1 and 2 are compared (with respect to end products and energy efficiencies) with each other by modeling and simulating three scenarios for case 1 and four scenarios for case 2. The simulation results show that the third scenario of case 1 and the fourth scenario of case 2 provide the most important required end products, namely, hydrogen and hydrocarbon fuels. The overall production of hydrocarbon fuels in the fourth scenario of case 2 increases 0.95 wt % more than that of the third scenario of case 1, whereas the production of hydrogen reduces by 14.7 wt % and the external energy consumption is 20 % higher in the fourth scenario of case 2, relative to that of the third scenario of case 1. For the third scenario of case 1 and fourth scenario of case 2, the total energy efficiency of the system is 43.45 % (high heating value (HHV)) and 43.16 % (HHV), respectively. The whole system is modeled and simulated in the Aspen Plus V8.4 program and the results are compatible with those of industrial and experimental data. Sensitivity analyses are performed to show the effects of various key operating parameters on the production yield of shale oil, retorting gas, and hydrogen.

The influence of shale ash on the pyrolysis of Huadian oil shale was investigated. It was found that under the catalysis of shale ash, aliphatics in shale oil were partially converted to aromatics, and the long- chain aliphatics were converted to shorter ones. This effect could be improved by increased content of shale ash or by augmented temperature. Beyond the Diels-Alder reaction for the formation of aromatics, a novel reaction route of cyclization of aliphatics followed by dehydrogenation to aromatics was proposed. The component of CaO in shale ash plays an important role to the general performance of shale ash.

The thermolysis of shale (regular shale from the Kenderlyk field in Kazakhstan) with the recirculation of high-boiling shale-oil fractions (above 340°C) in a system with a solid heat source is investigated by balance analysis. Such recirculation boosts the quality of the shale oil obtained. It is characterized by lower density, lower sulfur content, and higher yield of the light fractions employed in automobile fuels (gasoline and diesel fuel).

As oil production in the Permian Basin surges, the impact of shale production on groundwater resources has become a growing concern. Most existing studies focus on the impact of shale production on shallow freshwater aquifers. There is little understanding of the shale development’s impact on other groundwater resources (e.g., deep carbonate aquifers and deep basin meteoric aquifers). The possible natural hydraulic connections between shallow aquifers and formation water suggest such an impact can be consequential. This study explores the relationship between shale production and groundwater using produced water (PW) samples from active unconventional oil wells. Focusing on the most productive portion of the Permian Basin—the four-county region in Southeast New Mexico between 2007 and 2016, a large produced water dataset allows us to analyze the conditional correlations between shale oil production and PW constituents. The results suggest that (1) expanding from primarily conventional wells to unconventional wells during the recent shale boom has led to dramatic increases of the TDS, chloride, sodium, and calcium levels in groundwater (i.e., producing formation). (2) Nearby oil well density positively correlates with the TDS, chloride, and sodium levels in the PW samples.

Compared with the petrochemical industry, oil shale refinery industry is still relatively backward and has many shortcomings, such as poor quality of shale oil, inefficient utilization of retorting gas, and the unsatisfactory economic performance. In the situation of the low oil price, many oil shale refinery plants are forced to stop or cut production. Thus, oil shale industry is facing a severe problem. How to relieve monetary loss or turn it into profits? This paper proposes three integrated oil shale refinery processes: an integrated with hydrogen production from retorting gas, an integrated with hydrogenation of shale oil, and an integrated with hydrogen production and oil hydrogenation. The techno-economic performance of the three different processes is conducted and compared with that of a conventional oil shale process. Results show the exergy destruction ratio of the oil shale process integrated with hydrogen production from retorting gas is the least, 41.6%, followed by the oil shale process integrated with hydrogen production and oil hydrogenation, 45.9%. Furthermore, these two proposed processes have the best economic performance. Especially they can turn losses of the conventional oil shale process into profits at the situation of low oil price. The oil shale process integrated with hydrogen production from retorting gas is recommended to the oil shale plants which use the oil shale with oil content lower than 12.9%, while the plants using oil shale with oil content higher than 12.9% are better to select the oil shale process integrated with hydrogen production and oil hydrogenation.

Oil shale is a complex fossil material that is composed of organic matter and mineral matrix. The thermal decomposition of the organic matter generates liquid and gaseous products. Oil shale is a porous rock containing kerogen, an organic bituminous material. Kerogen is a solid mixture of organic compounds that is found in certain sedimentary rocks. The kerogen can be pyrolyzed and distilled into petroleum-like oil. Oil shale and bituminous materials are suitable for obtaining petroleum-like products. The process designed in this study has the ability to control unwanted volatile materials. The mineral matter is removed from oil shale before pyrolysis. The pyrolysis of the oil shale is performed in a retort. The temperature at which the kerogen decomposes into usable hydrocarbons begins at 300°C, but the decomposition proceeds more rapidly and completely at higher temperatures. Decomposition takes place most quickly at a temperature between 475 and 525°C. Shale oil from oil shale consists of the h...

With the decrease of conventional energy reserves, countries such as China began to explore efficient ways to use oil shale as an alternative energy source. The refinery technology used for oil shale is retorting. However, in this process, fine-particle shale, semi-coke, and retorting gas are not used efficiently; rather, they are dismissed as solid and gaseous wastes. Resource utilization is extremely low in retorting. In addition, the price of crude retorting oil is very low, making the whole retorting process suffer from a low economic benefit. In this paper, a new oil shale comprehensive refinery process is proposed, aiming to process shale particles from all ranges of sizes. The new process includes a gas circulation shale retorting unit, a Dagong shale retorting unit, an oil–gas separation unit, a retorting gas steam reforming unit for hydrogen production, and a shale oil hydrogenation unit. Fine-particle shale from the gas circulation shale retorting unit is used as raw material in the Dagong shale...

The authors propose the development of a Nuclear Renewable Oil Shale System (NROSS) to economically provide dispatchable electricity and liquid fossil fuels with low carbon dioxide emissions. High-capital-cost low-operating-cost nuclear, wind, and solar systems operate at full capacity. When excess electricity production causes low electricity prices, heat from the light water reactors (LWRs) and excess electricity from wind and solar systems produce shale oil.Oil shale contains kerogen, a solid organic material trapped in sedimentary shale, which upon slow heating is converted into a high-quality light crude oil. Recoverable oil in U.S. oil shale deposits exceeds conventional global oil reserves. Oil shale is preheated using heat (delivered as steam) from LWRs to about 220°C and then further heated using electricity from the LWRs and the electric grid to raise shale temperatures to ~370°C to decompose kerogen into light crude oil, natural gas, and char.The NROSS results in a zero-carbon electrici...

The results of experimental studies on preparation of oil shale and oil residue blend for gasification to produce synthesis gas of the desired composition are reported. The feasibility of preparation of stable oil shale suspension in aqueous emulsion of high-viscosity residual fuel oil having structural-rheological characteristics that ensure unhindered pumping of gasification feedstock through the gas generator nozzle and uniform distribution in the combustion chamber is shown.

Due to termination of work at the Leningrad Shale Deposit, the Russian shale industry has been liquidated, including not only shale mining and processing but also research and engineering (including design) activities, because this deposit was the only commercially operated complex in Russia. UTT-3000 plants with solid heat carrier, created mainly by the Russian specialists under scientific guidance of members of Krzhizhanovsky Power Engineering Institute, passed under the control of Estonian engineers, who, alongside with their operation in Narva, construct similar plants in Kohtla-Jarve, having renamed the Galoter Process into the Enifit or Petroter. The main idea of this article is to substantiate the expediency of revival of the oil shale industry in Russia. Data on the UTT-3000 plants' advantages, shale oils, and gas properties is provided. Information on investments in an UTT-3000 plant and estimated cost of Leningrad oil shale mining at the Mezhdurechensk Strip Mine is given. For more detailed technical and economic assessment of construction of a complex for oil shale extraction and processing, it is necessary to develop a feasibility study, which should be the first stage of this work. Creation of such a complex will make it possible to produce liquid and gaseous power fuel from oil shale of Leningrad Deposit and provide the opportunity to direct for export the released volumes of oil and gas for the purposes of Russian budget currency replenishment.

Because of enrichment of kerogen in the beneficiation process, oil shale may be used more effectively in both oil production and power generation. The float and sink tests were carried out to separate the raw oil shale samples into a series of fractions according to density first. Density distribution of Longkou oil shale in China indicated the ash content of oil shale with different density fractions increased with the increasing of density fraction, and the inorganic minerals composition of oil shale was mainly quartz, kaolinite, montmorillonite, calcite, analcime, dolomite, and pyrite. Comprehensive considering the results of XRF, XRD, and optical microscopy of Longkou oil shale in each density fraction all indicated there was high content of kerogen in low density fraction of oil shale. Although it is difficult to separate pure kerogen from oil shale, relative beneficiation of kerogen from raw oil shale could be realized using the gravity separation method. After the separation of raw oil shale using ...

Currently, more than half of the oil reserves (53.3%) in the world are in the form of restorable oils such as heavy oil, extra heavy oil, oil sand, tar sands, oil shale, and bitumen. Heavy oil is one of the petroleum oil varieties that contain long chain hydrocarbons. All types of heavy oils contain asphaltenes and thus are considered very dense substances. The asphaltenes are one of the most complex and heavy organic compounds present in the heavy oil. The heavy oil is defined as one having an American Petroleum Institute scale index equal or smaller than 20°. In conventional refining procedures, heavy oil poses many challenges. Recycling and re-refining are applied techniques for the processing of petroleum based heavy oils into reusable light oils such as gasoline and diesel fuel. In this regard, catalytic pyrolysis and thermal cracking are promising technologies for light oil production. The authors review the heavy oil upgrading processes and their associated challenges with ambition to find ...

The production of energy from unconventional sources of fossil fuels, (e.g., tar sands, shale or sandstone formations where oil or natural gas is tightly bound), is forming an increasingly large proportion of global energy use. This research evaluates three of the most prominent emerging methods of fossil fuel production—oil from oil/tar sands, shale oil and shale gas, both produced through hydraulic fracturing. In 2013, 42% of natural gas production and 41% of oil production in the United States was produced through hydraulic fracturing and ∼60% of new oil and gas wells use the method. In 2013, the Alberta region of Canada produced 1.7 million barrels per day of synthetic crude oil from oil sands, exporting 1.3 million barrels to the US every day, comprising ∼7% of daily US oil consumption. Results from this work show that natural gas obtained through hydraulic fracturing has an emergy yield ratio (EYR) between 4.23 and 9.18, depending on well productivity and whether the gas is “wet” (contains other hydrocarbons) or “dry” (pure or nearly pure methane). Synthetic crude oil from oil sands was found to have an EYR of 3.38–4.06 (in situ vs. mined production, respectively). The EYR of tight oil was found to be 3.43–4.73, dependent on the productivity of the well. Given the relatively high current market price of oil and relatively low market price of natural gas the observed results (i.e., similar or higher EYR for natural gas than past observations and a lower EYR for oil than past observations) are expected.

Oil shale is one of the most potential alternative resources for crude oil. Its exploration and exploitation are of increasing interest. In China, oil shale is mainly used by retorting technology. Fushun-type retorting technology, a typical gas heat carrier retorting technology, accounts for the largest proportion in China. However, this retorting technology is only applicable of coarse oil shale particles bigger than 10 mm in diameter. A lot of fine oil shale particles are discarded, resulting in waste of resources. Besides, this technology is criticized by low economic benefit. The main objective of this paper is to develop a coupling oil shale retorting process. The novel process can use fine oil shale particles as the raw materials of solid heat carrier retort to produce more shale oil. The novel process is modeled, and next, the simulation is carried out to build its mass and energy balance. From the techno-economic point of view, the advantages of the novel process are demonstrated by comparison to ...

Four oil shales from different locations and origins have been reacted in a flow-through system (425 °C, with N 2 or H 2 as sweep gases at 1 atm pressure) with a view to more closely simulating a practical process for oil shale conversion than can be achieved with a sealed autoclave system. It was observed that there was no general correlation between the yields in the two systems, nor was there a general correlation between the amount of condensate and the amount of volatiles obtained by thermogravimetric analysis. For all four oil shales, the condensate gave more complex gas chromatography–mass spectrometry total ion chromatograms (GC–MS TICs) than the CH 2 Cl 2 -solubles from sealed autoclave reactions. Surprisingly, the products from one of the Jordanian oil shales, Yarmouk, and an Australian Julia Creek oil shale were remarkably similar. The product from the lacustrine Colorado oil shale was much more similar to that from a lacustrine algal coal (torbanite) than to those from marine oil shales. The differences in yields and product characteristics between sealed autoclave and flow-through reactions suggest that yields and product distributions obtained from sealed autoclave reactions should be treated with caution.

Considering oil shale pyrolysis with a solid heat carrier, this article investigated the effect of shale ash, as the bed material for secondary reactions of pyrolysis volatile, on final product distribution and quality of oil shale pyrolysis in a laboratory dual-stage fixed bed reactor. The examined factors included the residence time of pyrolysis volatile in a shale ash bed and the temperature of shale ash (i.e., cracking temperature). Prolonging the pyrolysis volatile residence time in the shale ash bed from 0 to 10 s decreased the shale oil yield by 31.0% but increased the fraction of gasoline and diesel (boiling point 773 K) was cracked to increase the yields of light oil and pyrolysis gas (especially H-2 and CH4). The shale ash bed temperature was the key factor affecting the product distribution. The catalytic effect of shale ash lowered the shale oil cracking temperature for achieving the same degree of oil cracking. The catalytic activity of shale ash for cracking shale oil was shown to be closely dependent on the metal oxides in the ash. While CaO and Na2O tended to inhibit the formation of coke and to promote catalytic reforming, Fe2O3 showed good activity in cracking shale oil and forming coke.

Recently a facile low-energy-input retorting route but without marked loss in the shale-oil yield is developed, which is achieved by a self-heating effect, that is, spontaneously increasing retorting temperature in the absence of external heat provision (Guo et al., 2013, 2014). In this work, the applicability of self-heating retorting (SHR) process to three Chinese oil shales from different places (i.e., Longkou, Huadian and Fushun) is studied. Of these three oil shales, Fushun oil shale is associated with coal and was previously abandoned during coal mining due to its not high kerogen or oil content. The results show that it’s hard for Fushun oil shale to obtain satisfying self-heating effect, while Longkou or Huadian oil shale with higher kerogen or oil content shows satisfactory SHR. However, by adding suitable amounts of Longkou or Huadian oil shale into Fushun oil shale, a satisfying self-heating effect can be obtained as well. Thus, the relatively low-grade Fushun oil shale can also be well utilized to produce shale oil via this facile SHR route. Moreover, to utilize Fushun oil shale with a greener SHR process, the process can be performed by co-retorting Fushun oil shale with pine needles, a kind of renewable biomass. This finding also provides a new starting point for exploring plentiful biomass resources to utilize low-grade oil shale to produce oil in the future work.

Oil shale is an unconventional low-calorific-value fossil fuel, the usage of which is increasing due to increasing energy demand. Today, Estonia’s oil shale usage is the largest in the world. Approximately 90% of the electricity consumed is produced from Ca-rich oil shale. Most of the oil shale, approximately 12 million tons yearly, is used for power generation utilizing pulverized combustion (PC) and circulating fluidized bed combustion (CFBC) technologies. As a result, Estonia has one of the world’s highest CO 2 emission rates per capita. This study provides results of oil shale combustion in a batch reactor applying oxy-fuel conditions. The combustion experiments were performed at temperatures of 800, 850 and 900 °C while varying the N 2 , O 2 and CO 2 ratios. In addition to different temperatures and air-composition variation, water vapor was injected into the gas flow entering the furnace to study the water vapor influence on the solid combustion products. Our results indicated that elevated CO 2 levels have a significant influence on the carbonate-decomposition extent and therefore on the SO 2 -binding properties.

Exploration and exploitation of oil shale are of increasing interest to the countries with scarce oil reserves. Retorting technology is applied to produce shale oil. However, most of retorting proc...

The pyrolysis of oil shale from the Kotsebinskoe deposit for the manufacture of solid, liquid, and gaseous products was studied. The composition of the resulting oil shale products was determined. The areas of application for the oil shale products are proposed.

The utilization of a newly discovered Jordan-origin oil shale was outlined in this work. Both industrial and environmental issues were discussed for better handling the wastes that often generated upon processing of oil shale. Two by-products of oil shale were studied, retorted, and combusted oil shale. The wastes were produced under different conditions. Different analytical techniques (XRF, XRD, proximate analysis, infrared spectroscopy, particle size distribution, TGA/DSC, and ultimate analysis) were used to follow up the physicochemical changes in generated solid residues. Oil shale was rich in carbonate with spent content of 73.2%. Upon processing oil shale, many heavy metals were concentrated in the final residue. The most concentrated metals were Cr, Cu, Co, and V with enrichment factor more than 2.0 in both residues. Compared with raw oil shale, leaching of toxic heavy metals was increased many folds and percentage of extraction was higher than 60% of all metals using HNO3. Total characteristic leaching tests TCLT, a standard test to stimulate metals elution in the environment, confirmed that retorted oil shale was more toxic when contacted with aquatic environment. TCLT indicated that the released amount of Cr was 4.4 higher than the safe limit set by international agencies. Elemental analysis indicated that H/C ratio of oil shale was 0.11 and hence would be used as low-grade fuel. The maximum content of kerogen was 19%, which is estimated by Soxhlet extraction with methanol. The best utilization of retorted and combusted solid residues was as solid medium for Pb ions and phenol removal from solution. Retorted oil shale has better efficiency toward phenol, while combusted oil shale exhibited better removal for Pb ions. Gross heating value, textural parameters, density, and Si/Al ratio were found useful indicators to assess the best utilization of solid wastes generated upon oil shale processing.

Shale oil is unconventional oil, which is produced from oil shale pyrolysis, hydrogenation, or thermal dissolution [1]. Generally, the term oil shale is given to any type of sedimentary rock that contains solid bituminous materials (called kerogen) that are released from petroleum-like liquids when the rock is heated in the chemical process of pyrolysis [2].

Shale gas is a natural gas trapped within shale formations. It is expected that due to low carbon dioxide emission, shale gas will partially replace conventional hydrocarbon and coal as a source of energy in next century. In the United States, with the exploration and exploitation of shale gas, carbon emission has reduced as a number of powerhouses using coal have converted to gas as fuel. Shale formations have a good quantity of gas, and with the advanced exploration technology of hydraulic fracturing, the exploitation process has become conducive. South America and China are the countries where shale gas will replace conventional hydrocarbon and coal as a main source of energy. Europe, Poland, and the United Kingdom are working on exploitation of shale gas and are expected to reach the production stage in 3–5 years. Asian countries are also working to explore and exploit shale gas. With increasing prices of oil in the global market, the investment for the shale gas will be very encouraging.

The exploitation of oil shale involves mining, after which shale is directly burned to produce electricity or undergoes further processing. The two very common methods of surface mining, open-pit mining and strip mining, involve the removal of overlying material. In underground mining of oil shale, however, the removal of overlying material is very limited. For the extraction of the oil shale both in situ or ex situ processes are involved. In either case, the pyrolysis converts the kerogen of the oil shale into the condensable vapors, which after condensation are turned into synthetic crude oil and noncondensable gas (shale gas). Pyrolysis includes heating in the absence of air at a high temperature. Usually, this takes place between 450 and 500°C. The decomposition starts at a very low temperature of 300°C, and then proceeds more rapidly at a higher temperature.

One of the most important foundations of the modern economy is energy. Despite significant investments and innovations in green energies (e.g., solar and wind) in recent years, still fossil fuels like crude oil, natural gas, and coal constitute the majority of the world's energy (80% energy from: oil [36%], coal [23%] and gas [21%] based on BP Statistical Review, 2012). Over the past decades, the nuclear and hydropower sources have increased their contribution to provide energy as well. Oil is mainly utilized for transportation and petrochemicals, coal for hydropower, nuclear for generating electricity, and gas mostly for heating purposes. Hence, the energy in the world is still considerably dependent on fossil fuel energies.

This chapter covers important aspects in regard to oil shale production. First a brief introduction and history discusses the discovery of the many different methods and where they came from. The major production methods for shale oil production are described and explained in detail. A critical analysis was completed to give an overview to the many advantages and disadvantages associated with oil shale including the effects of rock properties, the governing equations for modeling, and the limitations for oil shale. The environmental impact and issues that have caused a major public opposition is discussed in detail regarding surface mining and in situ production methods. Finally, a recommendation and brief conclusion summing up the entire chapter are provided.

Natural gas and crude oil from shale and tight formations offer additional energy-producing resources that can be recovered from shale formations that typically function as both the reservoir rock and the source rock. In terms of chemical makeup, shale gas is typically a dry gas composed primarily of methane but some formations do produce wet gas while crude oil from tight formations is typically more volatile than many crude oils from conventional reservoirs. The shale formations that yield gas and oil are organic-rich shale formations that were previously regarded only as source rocks and seals for gas accumulating in the strata near sandstone and carbonate reservoirs of traditional onshore gas development. On the other hand, the crude oil from shale formations is a light highly volatile crude oil that contains more of the volatile hydrocarbons (C1–C4) than many conventional crude oils. In addition, the gas and oil storage properties of shale are quite different to conventional reservoirs. In the case of shale formations, the natural gas and crude oil present in the matrix system of pores—similar to that found in conventional reservoir rocks—are accompanied by gas or oil that is bound to, or adsorbed on, the surface of inorganic minerals in the shale. The relative contributions and combinations of free gas and oil from matrix porosity and from desorption of adsorbed constituents is a key determinant of the production profile of the well.

Mankind was using oil shale because of its combustible property, which does not require complicated processing. Its utilization began in ancient times, when it was employed for decoration and construction purposes. Shale oil was used in medical and military sectors as well. The oil shale was exploited by different countries until the 17th century. One of the interesting oil shales is the Swedish alum shale of Cambrian and Ordovician age because of its alum content and high concentrations of metals including uranium and vanadium. As early as 1637, the alum shales were roasted over wood fires to extract potassium aluminum sulfate, a salt used for tanning leather and also for fixing colors in fabrics. Late in the 1800s, the alum shales were retorted on a small scale for hydrocarbons. Production continued through World War II but ceased in 1966 because of the availability of cheaper supplies of petroleum crude oils. A part of uranium and vanadium was also extracted from alum shales. By the mid 19th century, the modern application of oil shale was initiated and started growing before World War I because of bulk production of automobiles. Due to the massive demand of this type of transportation, the consumption of the gasoline was increased and the supply was decreased. Hence, during World War I, the oil shale projects were developed in various countries. Because of the easy, convenient, and economic accessibility of conventional crude oils, the decline in production of the oil shale formations was observed after World War II. As of 2010, oil shale was commercially employed in Estonia, China, and Brazil, while several countries are thinking about starting and restarting commercial use of oil shale.

In Estonia, oil shale is used as a fuel for producing energy and as raw material for processing shale oil. Concentration plants at mines must guarantee required oil shale quality and quantity parameters. The processing rock material (run-of-mine) is the mineral composition, the quality of which depends on geological conditions and technology in mine. Mathematical description and data analysis are performed on working processes from working place (face) to a concentration plant: extraction, crushing, screening and concentration. A mathematical model for a concentration plant was created based on these studies. This model allows determining the optimum parameter kinds of trade oil shale and helps to design processing flow sheet.

New unconventional oil extraction technologies are needed because conventional technologies to extract gas and oil from oil shale or tar sands are both economically unfeasible and ecologically devastating. One technology proposed in this paper is built on long-standing proposals to explode a nuclear bomb in the heart of an oil shale deposit which in a flash causes the release of gas and oil from the oil shale. This rubble chimney will have a glassy bottom which seals the oil from sinking into the earth, thus preventing damage to the aquifer. The authors show that the equivalent of a significant atomic bomb can be achieved using conventional explosives or liquid oxygen and carbon. The computations further show that the amount of carbonous material lost in the explosion is a small price to pay for the safe in situ collection of the oil and gas. Computations show that this technology is both physically possible and economically feasible. A second approach is using the supercritical state — that exact point between liquid and gas — to extract the oil and gas from the oil shale and from the tar sands. In one configuration, the supercritical state is achieved by a sea-based configuration using the weight of water to provide sufficient pressure. A land-based alternative is a pressure well — a very deep well that similarly achieves sufficient pressure to produce the supercritical state. Supercritical carbon dioxide is frequently used in extraction using the supercritical state and the specific technology using carbon dioxide both in devices as well as in high pressure in situ. To contain the pollutants and maximize the output, a plasma tunneler heats the oil shale in situ and collects the oil and gas while the gases are contained in inflatable domes at the “worm hole” or the aperture that the earth penetration device was fed from. Other non-combustion proposals are advanced as well.

The conventional oil shale refinery suffers from inefficiency in resource use and poor economic performance. This is because that detrital oil shale and retorting gas are not properly used. Hydrogenation of crude shale oil is not cost-efficient with outsourcing hydrogen. Proposed in this paper is an integrated oil shale refinery with reforming of the retorting gas. The retorting gas is used to produce hydrogen, which is then supplied for the hydrogenation. Crude shale oil is upgraded to higher valued products, such as naphtha, diesel, and liquefied petroleum gas. The detrital oil shale is combusted to provide heat for the regeneration of CaO. Economic analysis is conducted by comparing to the conventional refinery process. Results show that the return on investment of the proposed process is 18.89%, much higher than the previous 10.53% of the conventional refinery process.

A comparative analysis of the quality of pyrolysis products obtained from oil shale, brown coal, and their mixtures showed that the combined processing of mixed fuels is promising because it provides an opportunity to expand the domestic raw materials base of solid fuels.

The effect of the minerals of Huadian oil shale on a low-energy input retorting route was studied. This special retorting route was achieved by a self-heating effect, that is, spontaneously increasing retorting temperature in the absence of external heat provision (Guo et al., 2013) [12]. Oil shale was first demineralized with HCl, HNO 3 or HF before used in the self-heating retorting. The oil shales treated with different acids, and their corresponding semicokes attained after retorting were also characterized. The results showed that using HF-treated oil shale produces the best self-heating effect and the highest oil yield. Using HNO 3 -treated oil shale also promotes the self-heating effect. While using HCl-treated oil shale remarkably worsens the self-heating effect, but it gives a higher oil yield than using HNO 3 -treated or raw oil shale. The reasons are also analyzed. Although different acid treatments affect the self-heating effect differently, all the attained oils mainly consist of various hydrocarbons, however, the product distributions are different.

For exploring and optimizing the oil shale fluidized bed retort with fine oil-shale ash as a solid heat carrier, retorting experiments of oil shale and fine oil-shale ash mixtures were conducted in a lab-scale retorting reactor to investigate the effects of fine oil-shale ash on shale oil. Oil shale samples were obtained from Dachengzi Mine, China, and mixed with fine oil-shale ash in the ash/shale mass ratios of 0:1, 1:4, 1:2, 1:1, 2:1 and 4:1. The experimental retorting temperature was enhanced from room temperature to 520 °C and the average heating rate was 12 °C min −1 . It was found that, with the increase of the oil-shale ash fraction, the shale oil yield first increased and then decreased obviously, whereas the gas yield appeared conversely. Shale oil was analyzed for the elemental analysis, presenting its atomic H/C ratio of 1.78–1.87. Further, extraction and simulated distillation of shale oil were also conducted to explore the quality of shale oil. As a result, the ash/shale mixing mass ratio of 1:2 was recommended only for the consideration of increasing the yield and quality of shale oil.

Oil shale is a petroleum source rock that has not undergone the natural processes required to convert its organic matter to oil and gas. However, oil shale kerogen can be converted artificially to liquid and gaseous hydrocarbons by pyrolysis. Heating oil shale in place (in situ) has a number of operational, economic, and environmental advantages over surface retorts, particularly when the shale is too deep to mine. This work describes experiments conducted at temperatures and pressures appropriate to commercially viable in situ pyrolysis. The data are needed to construct models to plan, interpret, and optimize field experiments and commercial operations. The experiments also provide insights into the chemical compositions of the native state shale and all the products of pyrolysis—hydrocarbon and nonhydrocarbon gases, oil, bitumen, remaining pyrolyzable kerogen, residual organic matter, and inorganic matter—as functions of thermal maturation. Numerous studies of Green River oil shale pyrolysis have been p...

The substantial discoveries of shale gas present many opportunities for the chemical, petrochemical, and fuel industries. As in conventional natural gas, shale gas contains primarily methane, but some formations contain significant amounts of higher molecular weight hydrocarbons and inorganic gases such as nitrogen and carbon dioxide. These differences present several technical challenges to incorporating shale gas with the current infrastructure designed to be used with natural gas. This paper is aimed at process synthesis, analysis, and integration of the production of methanol from shale gas. The composition of the shale gas feedstock is assumed to come from the Barnett Shale play located near Fort Worth, Texas, which is currently the most active shale gas play in the United States. Process simulation using ASPEN Plus along with published data were used to construct a base-case scenario. Key performance indicators were assessed. These include overall process targets for mass and energy and economic per...

For testing the feasibility of in-situ exploring oil shale by underground coal gasification. Based on the specification analysis of coal and oil shale, through simulating the occurrence state and characteristics of coal and oil shale, the underground Co-gasification model test was carried-out. In different gasification conditions (φ(O2) are 30%、35%、40%、45%、50% and oxygen/steam) ,The temperature-field extend rules of coal and oil shale、the separate-out rules of oil shale production and influence of oil shale on the quality of gas were studied. The results show that: when φ(O2) is 40-45%, temperature-rising rate is 7°C/min、extend rate of gasification face is 0.036m/h, the extend of temperature field is continuous and stable, the temperature change of oil shale and coal are synchronously , the high temperature of oil shale can up to 1000 °C above, that can satisfied the requirement of oil-gas collecting; and the same time , The heat-value of syngas improved 26.37%; The technological parameter was obtained in this test.

Aiming at utilization status of China’s small particle oil shale, in the condition of laboratory, self-developed instrument of fluidized bed thermal cracking is used to conduct experimental researches on producing shale oil through thermal cracking of small-particle oil Shale. Through the orthogonal experiment, the optimal technological parameters on producing shale oil through thermal cracking are optimized. The experimental results have shown us that under the optimal technological conditions, oil productivity is at about 5%. Therefore, the technology of fluidized bed thermal cracking is an effective new method for producing oil through small-particle oil shale.

Oil shale utilization has received much attention all over the world due to the rise of oil-prices; Jordan is one of the countries that have just started an intensive research for oil shale utilization. In this study the feasibility of oil shale combustion under oxy-fuel conditions was investigated using a 20 kW Once-Through reactor at a combustion temperature of 1200 °C. To the investigators best knowledge, this is the first time that oxy-fuel technology is applied for oil shale combustion. So this study is considered a unique with respect to the conditions and the scale of the combustion experiments. Jordanian oil shale samples from El-Lajjun was used. Unstaged air-firing and oxy-fuel combustion were investigated to study oil shale combustion behaviour. It is found that direct combustion of oil shale under oxy-fuel conditions is feasible, 100% oil shale burnout was achieved for OF27 combustion as well as air-firing. In addition, the high S content in oil shale is a well known problem; our study aims to find if oxy-fuel conditions will affect SO2 emissions as well as NO emissions. It is found that SO2 emissions during oil shale combustion under oxy-fuel conditions is lower than air-firing by around 30%. In addition, NOx emission was also found to be lower and can be reduced efficiently by adopting staged combustion technology under oxy-fuel conditions as well as air-firing, however, the oxy-fuel investigations were carried out without flue gas recirculation.

Comprehensive utilization of oil shale with analysis of material properties is introduced in this paper, including power generation and waste rock production of oil shale, cement raw materials production of oil shale and burned rock, and road repairing. Dry distillation oil refining technology of fluid oil shale, which has reached the international advanced level, is mainly described in this paper. With this technology, a project of fluid distillation oil refining with 600000 tons of oil shale per year is going to be started in Harbin Coal Chemical Limited Company, as well as an energy saving project of producing light shale oil.

The upgrading of shale oil is one of the new technologies of top industries in the world. The potential scientific and technological treatments of high-grade shale oil production from oil shale is very important in the future industries and is an issue of special interest to refineries. In the present study, we reviewed recent literature on the shale oil upgrading processes. The role of heating rate on the component fraction of shale oil produced was investigated. We determined the influence of supercritical water as a feasible technology that can dissolve polar, semi-polar and non-polar components for the highest rate of light hydrocarbon of shale oil. Ash with transfer heat all over the oil shale and cracking during the reporting process can enhance the quality of shale oil. In the shale oil upgrading treatment, catalyst has a great impact on the final H/C ratio of shale oil and recovered at the end of the reporting process. However, microwave heating is obviously the most successful technique for the upgrading of shale oil implemented to date. Moreover, we studied jet fuel production process from oil shale compared to crude oil. Oil shale has insufficient compounds to produce aviation fuels in which by upgrading process can be produced a high quality of jet fuels.