Everything about Shale Oil totally explained
Oil shale extraction refers to the process in which
kerogen, a mixture of organic chemical compounds found in
oil shales, is converted into
synthetic crude oil through the chemical process of
pyrolysis. The extraction produces a
petroleum-like shale oil—a form of
non-conventional oil—and
combustible shale gas (
shale gas can also refer to gas occurring naturally in shales). Oil shale is heated in the absence of
oxygen to a temperature at which kerogen is decomposed or pyrolysed into gas,
condensable oil, and a solid residue.
Decomposition begins at relatively low temperatures, but proceeds more rapidly and more completely at higher temperature. The shale oil may be used as a fuel oil or
upgraded to meet
refinery feed specifications by adding
hydrogen and removing impurities such as
sulfur and
nitrogen. The non-condensible retort gas and
char may be burnt and the heat energy may be reused for heating the raw oil shale or generating electricity.
The extraction techniques can be broadly classified into two primary methods, the
ex situ method and the
in situ method. There are hundreds of patents for oil shale
retorting technologies. However, only a few dozen have been tested in a pilot plant (with capacity 1 to 10 tonnes of oil shale per hour) and less than ten technologies have been tested at a demonstration scale (40 to 400 tonnes per hour). As of 2008, only four technologies are in commercial use, namely Kiviter, Galoter, Fushun, and
Petrosix. Almost all commercial retorts currently in operation or in development stages are internal heating retorts. As of 2008, oil shale extraction is being undertaken in
Estonia,
Brazil and
China, while some other countries such as
Australia,
USA,
Canada and
Jordan have planned to start or restore shale oil production.
Classification of extraction technologies
Industry analysts have created several classifications of the methods by which
hydrocarbons are extracted from oil shale. A frequently-used distinction considers whether
retorting is done above or below ground, and classifies the technologies broadly as
ex situ (off site) or
in situ (on site). In the
ex situ process, also known as above-ground retorting, the oil shale is mined and transported to a retort facility. By contrast, the
in situ method converts the kerogen while it's still in the form of an oil shale deposit; it's then extracted via a
well, where it rises in the same way as conventional petroleum.
However, based on the technique used to heat the oil shale to an appropriate temperature, its processing has also been classified into internal combustion, hot recycled solids, wall conduction, externally generated hot gas, reactive fluid, and volumetric heating methods. There are many possible realizations and combinations of these methods; therefore the following table is representative but not complete. Some processes are difficult to classify due to their unique methods of heat input (for example ExxonMobil's Electrofrac) or due to limited information.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Shale Oil'.
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