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The global transition to renewable energy sources such as wind and solar has created a critical need for effective energy storage solutions to manage their intermittency. This review focuses on compressed air energy storage (CAES) in porous media, particularly aquifers, evaluating its benefits, challenges, and technological advancements. Porous media-based CAES (PM-CAES) offers advantages, including lower costs and broader geographical availability compared to traditional methods. This review synthesizes recent advancements in numerical modeling, simulation, and experimental studies, which have enhanced the understanding of air–water–heat flow interactions and improved efficiency in these systems. Field studies demonstrate that using existing idle and abandoned wells can minimize infrastructure costs and environmental impact. This review underscores the potential of CAES in porous media to support the growing demand for sustainable and reliable energy storage solutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This comprehensive review presents a holistic examination of oil shale as a significant energy resource, focusing on its global reserves, extraction technologies, chemical characteristics, economic considerations, and environmental implications. Oil shale, boasting reserves equivalent to approximately 6 trillion barrels of shale oil worldwide, holds substantial potential to augment the global energy supply. Key extraction methods analyzed include surface mining, modified in situ, and true in situ conversion processes, each exhibiting distinct operational parameters and efficiencies. The review further delves into the chemical aspects of oil shale retorting and pyrolysis, highlighting the critical role of variables such as retorting temperature, residence time, particle size, and heating rate in determining the yield and composition of shale oil and byproducts. Economic analyses reveal that capital and operating costs, which vary according to the specific extraction and processing technologies implemented, are crucial in appraising the economic feasibility of oil shale projects. Lastly, the review acknowledges the potential environmental hazards linked with oil shale development, such as groundwater contamination and harmful emissions. It emphasizes the importance of rigorous monitoring programs, environmental impact assessments, sustainable technologies, and innovative strategies like co-combustion and comprehensive utilization systems in mitigating such impacts. The review underlines the need for a balanced approach that harmonizes technological advancement, economic viability, and environmental sustainability in oil shale exploitation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Oil shale in-situ retorting technologies are the trend of large scale commercialized development of oil shale in the future. Among them, the fluid heating technology has attracted more and more attention due to its distinct advantages as fast heating, adequate usage of retorting gas, and relatively mature technology, etc. In view of the problems existing in fluid heating technology for oil shale in-situ retorting both at home and abroad, this paper presents a new idea of fluid heating, that is, using the combined technology of staged fracturing of horizontal section and superheated steam assisted gravity drive to produce the oil shale resources with great burial depth (300~1000 m); its main principle is to inject overheated steam through the complex fracture network created during staged fracturing of horizontal section to heat the oil shale reservoir and gradually convert the kerogen to liquid hydrocarbons, the liquid hydrocarbons so produced then flow to the producing well through the fractures, and finally flow to surface in conventional method. Taking the oil shale basin in Huangxian Basin in Longkou, Shandong, this paper presents a design scheme for fluid heating technology, which has significant reference value for pilot tests from now on. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Oil shale is one of the most alternative energy except of coal, oil and natural gas. How to develop and use it, have attracted more and more attention in many countries. Taking into account issues such as environmental pollution, in-situ retorting technology has been the trend of large-scale commercialization of oil shale in the future. China has produced the oil shale for a long time, but all of them were developed by means of surface retorting, resulting in a technical gas of in-situ retorting. In order to promote the commercialization of oil shale in-situ retorting technology, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management initiated two oil shale development program and solicited applications for Research, Development and Demonstration (RD&D) in the Green River Formation. This paper also introduces the latest progress of the pilot projects of the major oil companies in this region. By comparing and analyzing the Shell ICP technology, Chevron CRUSH technology, American Shale Oil company CCR technology, and ExxonMobil Electrofrac technology, not only expand the ideas for oil shale in-situ retorting technology, but also provide references for large-scale exploitation of unconventional oil and gas resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the gradual depletion of oil resources, it is urgent to vigorously develop unconventional and renewable energy sources. As an unconventional resource with abundant resources, the rational and efficient development of oil shale is of great significance to alleviating the national energy crisis. The main methods of oil shale development are surface dry distillation and in situ transformation. In situ catalytic conversion technology, as an emerging mining method, has the potential to improve efficiency, reduce costs, and environmental impact and is an important direction for future oil shale development. As a key component in the in situ conversion process, catalysts play a crucial role in the rate, selectivity, and product quality of the reaction. However, the research on oil shale pyrolysis catalysts is still in the laboratory stage and is difficult to translate into practical applications. Therefore, this paper reviews recent progress of catalyst research in the in situ catalytic conversion of oil shale, including the types, design principles, and reaction mechanisms of catalysts, and looks forward to the future development direction. It provides a certain reference for the discovery of new catalysts that can improve yield and reduce environmental pollution in the process of oil shale extraction and also provides a valuable technical reference for the green development and utilization of unconventional and strategic alternative energy sources in the world and the transformation and sustainable development of the global energy structure., Competing Interests: The authors declare no competing financial interest., (© 2024 The Authors. Published by American Chemical Society.)