Search

A literature search was conducted to evaluate information about the chemistry, behavior, and distribution of environmentally hazardous water contaminants produced during extraction (above and below ground) and upgrading of shale oil, and to assess research in oil shale environmental control technology. This report details the literature pertinent to environmental control technology research. Air quality, water quality, potential surface disruption, and potential problem areas are assessed, research needs are identified, and where applicable, environmental control technologies and future research areas are indicated.

An estimate of occupational cancer risks due to hydrocarbon exposure during retorting, upgrading, and transportation was derived using epidemiological studies in a surrogate industry. The oil refining industry was selected as a surrogate with the goal of adjusting that workforce's risk based upon toxicologic and exposure data. Risk estimates were derived for those cancers which may be excessive in refinery workers, namely lung, stomach, kidney, brain, and skin cancer. The magnitude of health risks for these diseases was very small, with the estimated 15,000 exposed workers suffering 3.7 excess internal cancers per year and 21 excess skin cancers per year. This morbidity would be expected to produce about 3 deaths per year. In spite of considerable uncertainty regarding these figures, the conclusion that hydrocarbon-induced cancers are overshadowed by dust-related respiratory disease as an occupational health risk in the oil shale industry is warranted. The implications of these results for further health research and industrial hygiene practices are discussed. 34 references, 3 tables.

Current ambient air quality standards in the six Rocky Mountain states have been used to evaluate limits on the number of energy conversion facilities that can be constructed in nine resource areas in these states. Facilities considered were coal-fired power plants, coal gasification plants, and shale oil extraction facilities. The number of facilities determined in this way is compared to the numbers required in 1980, 2000, and 2020 according to a regionally disaggregated national scenario. The comparison shows that present air quality standards probably will not limit coal development in the Rocky Mountains severely but that extensive oil shale development will not be possible using current facility design. Pollutant dispersion calculations have also been used to approximate the air pollution impacts of full energy development on health, property, and aesthetics in the region. The impacts will be substantial but not large compared to the cost of control equipment or the regional economic benefits generated by the energy industries. The study brought out the high value of further research and development on reducing emissions from shale oil processing facilities, on better understanding of public perception of changes in visibility, and on knowledge about pollutant transport in mountainous terrain.

Retort No. 27 was ignited using a new procedure and 47 days of operation were completed in the quarter. For retort No. 28 air injection and off gas piping and manifolding was completed along with the installation of electrical and instrumentation wiring. The off gas processing plant for the two retorts was completed and an initial shakedown run made.

A hydrologic monitoring and assessment program is being developed to investigate the hydrologic characteristics of surface and ground waters in the region of the Anvil Points, Colorado, Rifle Oil Shale Facility. The objectives of the program are to: evaluate ground-water contributions to study streams; assess contaminant transport capability of surface and ground waters; determine peak discharge magnitude and frequency relationships for use in designing possible spent oil shale disposal works; and assess the impact of specified hypothetical problems, events, or scenarios. To accomplish these objectives, seven major tasks have been identified: (1) literature review of existing studies dealing with the regional, hydrological, physiographical, geological, and climatological characteristics; (2) ground-water characterization; (3) drainage basin characteristics and channel geometry; (4) streamflow and sediment transport; (5) stream travel times; (6) analysis of spent shale disposal; and (7) support of water quality sample collection.

The American oil shale industry is on the threshold of commercial industrial development. Potential occupational hazards include shalosis or oil shale pneumoconiosis, dermatoses, cancer of the skin, lung, and possibly other sites, and accidents. Air, water, and solid waste pollution problems are complicated by the aridity of the Green River oil shale formation located in Utah, Colorado, and Wyoming. The region currently lacks the schools, health facilities, community services, and skilled labor required for large-scale development. The oil shale industry faces an opportunity and a challenge of prudently assessing and controlling exposures and contributing to the social development of the region.

The purpose of this research program is to understand the potential impact of an oil shale industry on environmental levels of trace contaminants in the region. The program involves a comprehensive study of the sources, release mechanisms, transport, fate, and effects of toxic trace chemicals, principally the trace elements, in an oil shale industry. The overall objective of the program is to evaluate the environmental and health consequences of the release of toxic trace elements by shale and oil production and use. The baseline geochemical survey shows that stable trace elements maps can be constructed for numerous elements and that the trends observed are related to geologic and climatic factors. Shale retorted by above-ground processes tends to be very homogeneous (both in space and in time) in trace element content. Leachate studies show that significant amounts of B, F, and Mo are released from retorted shales and while B and Mo are rapidly flushed out, F is not. On the other hand, As, Se, and most other trace elements are not present in significant quantities. Significant amounts of F and B are also found in leachates of raw shales. Very large concentrations of reduced sulfur species are found in leachatesmore » of processed shale. Very high levels of B and Mo are taken up in some plants growing on processed shale with and without soil cover. There is a tendency for some trace elements to associate with specific organic fractions, indicating that organic chelation or complexation may play an important role. Many of the so-called standard methods for analyzing trace elements in oil shale-related materials are inadequate. A sampling manual is being written for the environmental scientist and practicing engineer. A new combination of methods is developed for separating the minerals in oil shale into different density fractions. Microbial investigations have tentatively identified the existence of thiobacilli in oil shale materials such as leachates. (DC)« less

Oil shale development activities continued at a somewhat restricted pace during 1983. The activities reflect the continued soft economic environment in the petroleum industry.

Data on the content of benzo(a)pyrene (BP) in oil shale industry wastewater, the effectiveness of various effluent treatment processes (evaporation, extraction with butyl acetate, trickling filters, aeration tanks) in reducing the level of BP in oil shale wastewater, the level of BP in various bodies of water of Estonia, and in fish and other water organisms are reviewed. The quantitative determination of BP in concentrated diethyl ether extracts of water samples was carried out by ultraviolet and spectroluminescence procedures by use of the quasi-linear spectra at -196 degrees C in solid paraffins. It has been found that oil shale industry wastewater contains large amounts of BP. The most efficient purification process for removing the BP in oil shale industry phenol water is extraction with butyl acetate. The level of BP in the rivers of the oil shale industry area is comparatively higher than in other bodies of water of the Republic. The concentration of BP in the lakes of the Estonian S.S.R. is on the whole insignificant. Even the maximum concentration found in our lakes is as a rule less than the safety limit for BP in bodies of water (0.005 microgram/l). During water is treated at the waterworks. The effectiveness of the water treatment in reducing the level of BP varies from 11 to 88%. Filtration was found to be the most effective treatment. About 20 samples of fish from nine bodies of water in Estonia have been analyzed for content of BP. The average content of BP in the muscular tissue of various species of fish is as a rule less than 1 microgram/kg. There is no significant difference in the concentration of BP in sea and freshwater fish. There is no important difference in the content of BP in the organs of various fish. Fat fish contain more BP than lean ones. The weight (age) of fish does not influence the content of BP in the muscular tissue of fish.

The large decline in oil prices which began in 1985 has rendered uneconomic all conventional schemes for producing shale oil as a substitute to petroleum-derived fuels. While continuing advances in production technology may be expected, such advances will be incremental in nature and are unlikely to reduce the cost of production by one half or more, as would be required to be competitive at today's conditions. If all oil shale development is deferred until such time as oil prices increase greatly, it will not be possible to respond to needs for alternative fuels in a timely fashion. It would therefore be extremely beneficial if a self-supporting shale oil facility of any type could be built and operated in the near future. One way in which this might be possible is to build a small-scale facility to manufacture products which are more valuable than fuels. In examining the potential for producing specialty products from oil shale, a marketing assessment was carried out for a small facility which would be located in the western oil shale region. Results are presented.

This Oil Shale Environmental Development Plan (EDP) identifies and examines the environmental, health, safety, and socio-economic issues concerning the development of the ERDA Oil Shale Program, the requirements and actions needed to resolve these issues, and a time-phased action plan for the evaluation and mitigation of environmental impacts. The Plan addresses the oil shale energy system including mining, crushing and sizing, fracturing, in situ and surface retorting, product recovery and upgrading, transportation, and end use. The ERDA environmental activities and projects related to the oil shale technology development program are included in this Plan. Also included is a survey of activities of other Federal agencies which relate to oil shale environmental issues and requirements.

A cultured cell model system has been developed which encompasses both proliferating and nonproliferating cell populations. When combined with the unique analytical instrumentation available at the Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory, the system is characterized by low cost, ease and speed of operation, and complete cell accountability. The system will be utilized to study cellular kinetic and structural responses to treatment with hazardous agents associated with coal and oil shale technologies.

The first mention of the oil shale industry goes back to the seventeenth century, when a British Patent no. 330 was issued in 1694 to Martin Eale, who “found out a way to extract and make great quantities of pitch, tar and oil out of a sort of rock” (Cane, 1967). The first industrial plant was developed in Autun, France in 1838, followed by another exploitation in Scotland, 1850. Since then many countries developed an oil shale industry: Australia (1865), Brazil (1881), New Zealand (1900), Switzerland (1915), Sweden (1921), Estonia (now USSR) (1921), Spain (1922), China (1929), South Africa (1935). The highest point of the development was reached during or immediately after World War II.

This compilation lists abstracts of papers, internal reports, and talks presented during 1976 at national and international meetings by members of the Earth Sciences Division, Lawrence Livermore Laboratory. Subjects include: coal gasification, gas stimulation, geothermal fields, oil shale retorting, radioactive waste management, geochemistry, geophysics, seismology, explosive phenomenology, and miscellaneous studies.

The largest single reserve of hydrocarbons known to exist anywhere in the world is given by the oil shales of the Green River formation. in the western part of the United States. With available conventional techniques only an insignificant part of these resources could be tapped, and that only at great cost and under considerable technical uncertainties. It is on this basis that the Oil Shale Advisory Board came in 1964 to the negative conclusion that such an oil shale industry would not be competitive under conditions as they were at that time. In the following report a new technology is discussed which was first proposed in 1959, but which has been developed mainly since 1964: the in situ production of oil from shale by large underground retorts created by nuclear explosives. The first part of the present report describes this new process; the second part gives an analysis of the United States and the world endowments with crude oil resources and oil shale deposits and finally, the third part deals with expected cost estimates of this new technology as compared with present crude oil prices and potential costs of conventional shale oil production.

Discussion of this paper is invited. Three copies of any discussion should be sent to the Society of Petroleum Engineers office. Such discussions may be presented at the above meeting and, with the paper, may be considered for publication in one of the two SPE magazines. Abstract Although world oil supplies appear fully capable of providing the petroleum appetite of this planet for petroleum appetite of this planet for many years to come, national interests and geographic remoteness from prolific oil fields have promoted the establishment of synthetic fuel industries. An examination of existing and prospective synthetic fuels industries outside the United States reveals only two which may be considered to have the potential of future growth. These are potential of future growth. These are the tar sands of Canada and oil shale in Brazil. A comparison of the processing techniques now employed along with the reserves supporting these processes with a simple set of criteria for success points up the short-comings of the oil shale operations in Estonia and Manchuria and the coal facilities in South Africa. A lack of improved technology may be cited as the single most important criteria not met by these industries. Although attempts are being made to create an emerging technology from an antiquated base in these instances, the research may well have begun too late to permit the existence of these international synthetic fuel plants in a future competitive world oil market. Introduction This review of the international synthetic fuels picture, although not intended to be exhaustive, will attempt to outline the current situation as we know it with some thoughts on the future. Since several recent reviews adequately treat the situation in this country, our primary aim will be to bring you up to primary aim will be to bring you up to date on synfuel activities outside the United States, especially where industries are in being or where prospects appear encouraging. Before proceeding further let us establish a definition of "synthetic fuels" as we use the term. Synthetic fuels are hydrocarbons derived from coal, oil shale or tar sands, that are similar in quality and characteristics to petroleum liquids and gases.

Three French oil-shale distillation plants were inspected by representatives of U.S. Bureau of Mines and U.S. Petroleum Administration. French Government is attempting to develop known deposits of shale for the purpose of supplying a portion of their requirements of motor fuel and lubricating oil. Data are given on equipment, capacity, production of plants, and chemical composition of shale. Brief description of a new report process developed in Grenoble is included.

An analysis of the sulfur compounds that are potential pollutants in the oil shale industry, particularly on the distribution of sulfur species in the retort off-gas is presented. The analysis has a dual purpose: 1) to demonstrate what an owner or operator must consider in devising a system to comply with existing SO/sub 2/ emissions limits; and 2) to highlight some of the problems with the data available for making these decisions. Two control systems are considered: the Stretford H/sub 2/S removal process and flue gas desulfurization (FGD). Four model plants (A, B, C, and D) are used in the analysis. Plant A is based on data from the Paraho direct-fired surface retort; Plant B on the Occidental modified in-situ retort; Plant C on the Union SGR-3 indirect-fired hot-gas retort; and Plant D on the TOSCO II retort operating in the indirect-fired, hot-solid mode. The authors determined that Plants C and D should have little problem meeting the Colorado State regulation using Stretford technology. Plants A and B - those based on direct-fired processes - will probably not be able to meet the regulations using only Stretford technology. Plant A was able to achieve compliance using FGD alone, but evenmore » a combination of Stretford and FGD may not be able to bring Plant B into compliance. (JMT)« less

ABOUT TWO YEARS ago, in a review of the more recent technical literature on oil shale, the writer was impressed by the dearth of information on the oil-shale industry of Russia. It was inconceivabl...

The effects of alternative leasing policies and expected government revenues on technological developments involving shale oil are presented in an analytical model. It is assumed that the room and pillar mining technique for ore less than 1500 feet deep will be used in initial oil shale leases until deep mining becomes economically feasible. Policy alternatives include royalty-bid and profit-share systems. Government policies, such as depletion allowances, may affect the rate and efficiency of resource development. Royalty-bid systems show a lower investment and a longer period to build up production rates, which could allow time for technological improvements. Results of the model indicate that the current depletion allowance of 15% is too low to increase either investment levels or production rates. Revenue, which increases in proportion to plant scale, must be considered in determining the size of lease tracts. Development risk cannot be spread among several opportunities because present policy limits corporations to one lease. Other factors considered are ''write-off'' allowances and differential tax treatment. (20 references) (DCK)