Method for recovery of hydrocarbon oils from oil shale and other carbonaceous solids
Inactive Publication Date: 2008-08-28
COMBUSTION RESOURCES
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Benefits of technology
[0047]The reactor vessel utilized in the process may be an indirectly heated rotary kiln, or a stationary, i.e., non-rotating reactor with solid screw feed system and transport system. The reactor vessel may be constructed for operation at or near atmospheric pressure conditions. Alternatively, the reactor may be adapted for use at elevated pressures to thereby increase the capacity of the reactor.
Problems solved by technology
However, a subsequent drop in oil prices resulted in a substantial discontinuation in investment in oil shale technology and research.
Recently, political unrest and hostilities in the Arabian Gulf have again resulted in significant increases in the price of crude oil thereby reinvigorating the interest in the processing of the national reserves of oil shale and tar sands.
Some of these disadvantages are as follows:(1) such processes involve significant drilling costs;(2) control of the recovery process is oftentimes difficult;(3) such processes typically recover a low percentage of the available shale oil;(4) the oil shale treated typically has low permeability restricting flow rates of the shale oil and gas;(5) such processes carry the possibility of water contamination in the area in which the processes are employed;(6) control of the shale bed boundaries and operating conditions are difficult;(7) such processes typically have very long residence times; and(8) such processes conventionally consume high quantities of expensive energy, especially those processes which utilize electricity as the heating source.
Despite these advantages, prior development of methods for surface processing of U.S. shale ore to recover shale oil have not resulted in commercial viability and they have been criticized for producing unacceptable air emissions.
Relatively large quantities of hydrogen and high temperature and high pressure catalytic operating conditions are required for the processing of the shale oil.
The upgrading requirements and the availability of the hydrogen to carry out the upgrading often render such oil unamenable to the processing capabilities of existing conventional oil refineries.
Method used
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[0054]FIG. 1 presents a simplified block diagram of an embodiment of the method of the invention. An abbreviated disclosure of the process utilizing the schematic diagram of FIG. 1 will now be discussed. Hereinafter, a more detailed description of the various components of the process will be provided.
[0055]As shown in FIG. 1, coal 10 is ground to a preselected size in coal preparation unit 12. Coal preparation unit 12 may include a conventional coal pulverizer. The pulverized coal is fed to coal gasification reactor 18 together with oxygen 16, recycled off-gas 69 and steam 17A. Oxygen 16 is produced by air separation process 15. Steam 17A is produced in syngas cooling and cleaning unit 21 and in heat recovery steam generation unit 35. Off-gas 69 is produced in syngas processing unit 25, shale oil recovery unit 60 and hydro treating and reforming process unit 65. Hot syngas 19 and ash 20 flow from the coal gasification reactor 18. Hot syngas 19 containing fine particulates produced ...
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A continuous, efficient surface method for thermal recovery of hydrocarbons from a solid feedstock is described that includes a self-contained process that produces hydrogen for upgrading the hydrocarbons to produce motor fuel. The hydrogen also is used as a clean burning fuel for the thermal processing. The hydrogen is produced as a component of synthesis gas formed by gasification of coal. The synthesis gas is processed to remove and dispose of carbon dioxide and by-product sulfur. Combustion of the hydrogen to provide indirect heating of the solid feedstock maximizes hydrocarbons that can be upgraded and reduces or eliminates the emission of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.
Description
GOVERNMENT RIGHTS[0001]This invention was made with government support under DOE / SBIR Grant DF-FG-02-06ER84596. The Government has certain rights to this invention.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0002]1. Field[0003]This invention relates to methods for recovering hydrocarbon oils from various solid materials. More specifically, this invention is directed to methods for recovering hydrocarbon oils from oil shale, tar sands and other carbonaceous materials.[0004]2. Statement of the Art[0005]Oil has been produced commercially from shale since at least as early as the mid-nineteenth century. Currently, oil production from shale is being pursued in eighteen different countries world-wide. Over the past century, the extensive oil shale deposits of the western United States have been viewed as being a potential solution to the nation's energy problems. The economic viability of oil production from shale deposits has been affected by the expansion of crude oil availability. As the price for cru...
Claims
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Login to View More IPC IPC(8): C10G1/06
CPCC01B3/12C10K3/04C01B3/56C01B2203/0283C01B2203/0415C01B2203/043C01B2203/0475C01B2203/0485C01B2203/0495C01B2203/065C01B2203/0894C01B2203/84C10B47/30C10B53/06C10G49/007C10J3/485C10J3/86C10J2300/0903C10J2300/0906C10J2300/093C10J2300/0959C10J2300/0973C10J2300/0989C10J2300/1618C10J2300/1671C10J2300/1675C10J2300/1678C10J2300/1687C10J2300/169C10J2300/1838C10J2300/1884C10J2300/1892C10K1/002C10K1/004C10K1/005C10K1/007C10K1/024C10K1/026C10K1/08C10K1/101C10K1/143C10K1/16C01B3/52
InventorHATFIELD, KENT E.COATES, RALPH L.SMOOT, L. DOUGLAS
OwnerCOMBUSTION RESOURCES