Oil shale

Oil shale is a general term applied to a fine-grained sedimentary rock containing significant traces of kerogen (a solid mixture of organic chemical compounds) that have not been buried for sufficient time to produce conventional fossil fuels. When heated to a sufficiently high temperature a vapor is driven off which can be distilled (retorted) to yield a petroleum-like shale oil—a form of non-conventional oil—and combustible shale gas. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Two types of sedimentary rock: limey shale overlaid by limestone. ... Kerogens are chemical compounds that make up a portion of the organic matter in sedimentary rocks. ... A chemical compound is a chemical substance of two or more different chemically bonded chemical elements, with a fixed ratio determining the composition. ... Fossil fuels are hydrocarbons, primarily coal and petroleum (fuel oil or natural gas), formed from the fossilized remains of dead plants and animals[1] by exposure to heat and pressure in the Earths crust over hundreds of millions of years[2]. The theory that hydrocarbons were formed from these... Vapor (US English) or vapour (British English) is the gaseous state of matter. ... Laboratory distillation set-up using, without a fractionating column 1: Heat source 2: Still pot 3: Still head 4: Thermometer/Boiling point temperature 5: Condenser 6: Cooling water in 7: Cooling water out 8: Distillate/receiving flask 9: Vacuum/gas inlet 10: Still receiver 11: Heat control 12: Stirrer speed... It has been suggested that theoretical yield be merged into this article or section. ... Pumpjack pumping an oil well near Lubbock, Texas Ignacy Łukasiewicz - inventor of the refining of kerosene from crude oil. ... Non-conventional oil is oil extracted using techniques other than the traditional oil well method. ...

The kerogen in oil shale can be converted to oil through the chemical process of pyrolysis. Oil shale can also be burnt directly as a low-grade fuel for power generation and heating, and be used as a raw material in the chemical and construction materials industries. Currently oil shales are used commercially for oil production in Estonia, Brazil and China, for power generation in Estonia, China, Israel and Germany, for cement production in Estonia, Germany and China, and for chemical industry in Estonia and Russia.^[1][2][3] Simple sketch of pyrolysis chemistry Pyrolysis usually means the chemical decomposition of organic materials by heating in the absence of oxygen or any other reagents, except possibly steam. ... A combustion reaction taking place in a igniting match Combustion or burning is a complex sequence of exothermic chemical reactions between a fuel and an oxidant accompanied by the production of heat or both heat and light in the form of either a glow or flames. ...

World deposits of oil shale are estimated to equal 2.9–3.3 trillion barrels of recoverable oil, 1.5–2.6 trillion barrels of which are in the United States.^[4][5][6][7] Attempts to develop these reserves, ongoing for over 150 years, have had limited success.^[8] Although still seen as a potential future alternative to conventional oil, world production reached a peak of 46 million tons in 1980 before falling to about 16 million tons in 2000 due to the high cost of production relative to conventional petroleum.^[9][10] Deposition, also known as sedimentation, is the geological process whereby material is added to a landform. ...

Environmentalists have expressed concern over the extraction of shale oil,^[10] and protests appear to have contributed to the halting of the developing industry in Australia. ^[11] For the psychology topic, see Environmental psychology. ...

In addition to the oil shale, there are other groups of organic-rich sedimentary rock—bitumen-impregnated rocks (tar sands and petroleum reservoir rocks), and humic coals and carbonaceous shale.^[12] Bituminous rocks are sedimentary rocks, usually shale, sandstone, limestone or dolostone, that contain traces of tar, bitumen, asphalt or petroleum. ... Athabasca Oil Sands Tar sands, also referred to as oil sands, bituminous sands, or (in Venezuela) extra-heavy oil, are a mixture of sand or clay, water, and extremely heavy crude oil. ... This article belongs in one or more categories. ... Shale Shale is a fine-grained sedimentary rock whose original constituents were clays or muds. ...

Geology

Main article: Oil shale geology

Outcrop of Ordovician kukersite oil shale, northern Estonia.

Oil shales are a group of fine-grained sedimentary rocks which contain kerogen. ... Image File history File linksMetadata No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File linksMetadata No higher resolution available. ... The Ordovician period is the second of the six (seven in North America) periods of the Paleozoic era. ...

Classification and varieties

Oil shale does not have a specific chemical formula. Different types of oil shales vary in their chemical composition, type of kerogen, age, and depositional history, including the organisms from which they were derived.^[13]

Oil shales have been divided into three categories depending on their composition. These three categories are carbonate-rich shale, siliceous shale and cannel shale. Carbonate-rich shales derive their name from the large amount of carbonate minerals such as calcite and dolomite that can be found in it. As many as 20 carbonate minerals have been found in oil shale, the majority of which have thought to have been deposited at the time of deposition. One type of carbonate-rich shale that is valued quite highly is lacustrine-sourced deposits, because of the frequent occurrence of organic-rich shale layers sandwiched between carbonate-rich layers of oil shale. These deposits are hard formations which could be difficult to process using ex-situ methods.^[14] Siliceous shales derive their names as they are not rich in carbonate deposits but rather Detritus detrital minerals. Detrital minerals that have been known to be present are quartz, feldspar, clay, chert and opal. Younger siliceous shales can be good sources for hydrocarbons, but as the deposits get older and deeper the hydrocarbons that might have been present have generally migrated. Siliceous shales are not as hard or as weather-resistant as carbonate-rich shale and may be better suited for extraction via ex-situ methods.^[14] In organic chemistry, a carbonate is a salt of carbonic acid. ... R-phrases R42 R43 R49 S-phrases S22 S36 S37 S45 S53 Flash point non-flammable Supplementary data page Structure and properties n, εr, etc. ... Doubly refracting Calcite from Iceberg claim, Dixon, New Mexico. ... Dolomite crystals from Touissite, Morocco Dolomite is the name of both a carbonate rock and a mineral consisting of calcium magnesium carbonate (formula: CaMg(CO3)2) found in crystals. ... Lacustrine is derived from the Latin word lacus, which means lake. ... Quartz is one of the most common minerals in the Earths continental crust. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Chert Chert (IPA: ) is a fine-grained silica-rich cryptocrystalline sedimentary rock that may contain small fossils. ... The mineraloid opal is amorphous SiO2·nH2O, hydrated silicon dioxide, the water content sometimes being as high as 20% but is usually between three and ten percent. ...

Based upon environment of deposition, oil shales are characterized as terrestrial, lacustrine, and marine. To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Lacustrine is derived from the Latin word lacus, which means lake. ... Marine is an umbrella term for things relating to the ocean, as with marine biology, marine geology, and as a term for a navy, etc. ...

Cannel coal is brown to black coal (sometimes with shaly texture) composed of resins, spores, waxes, cutinaceous and corky materials derived from terrestrial vascular plants as well as varied amounts of vitrinite and inertinite. Lamosite is pale brown and grayish-brown to dark-gray to black oil shale in which the chief organic constituent is lamalginite derived from lacustrine planktonic algae. Marinite is a gray to dark-gray to black oil shale of marine origin in which the chief organic components are lamalginite and bituminite derived from marine phytoplankton with varied admixtures of bitumen, telalginite, and vitrinite. Torbanite, named after Torbane Hill in Scotland, is a black oil shale whose organic matter is telalginite derived from lipid-rich Botryococcus and related algal forms. Tasmanite, named after Tasmania, is a brown to black oil shale whose organic matter consists of telalginite derived chiefly from unicellular tasmanitid algae of marine origin. Kukersite, named after Kukruse in Estonia, is a light-brown marine oil shale whose principal organic component is telalginite derived from the green alga, Gloeocapsomorpha prisca.^[16] Cannel coal, also know as candle coal, is a type of coal with a large amount of hydrogen, which burns easily with a bright light and leaves little ash. ... Torbanite is a variety of coal, sometimes known as boghead coal. ... Tasmanite is a prasinophyte algae commonly associated with high-latitude, nutrient-rich, marginal marine settings find in Tasmania. ... Cutin is a waxy substance which is a component of cuticle at the surface of leaves in plants. ... A terrestrial plant is one that grows on land. ... Divisions Non-seed-bearing plants Equisetophyta Lycopodiophyta Psilotophyta Pteridophyta Superdivision Spermatophyta Pinophyta Cycadophyta Ginkgophyta Gnetophyta Magnoliophyta The vascular plants are plants in the Kingdom Plantae (also called Viridiplantae) that have specialized tissues for conducting water. ... Vitrinite is one of the primary components of coals and most sedimentary kerogens. ... Inertinite is fossilised charcoal. ... Photomontage of plankton organisms Plankton are any drifting organism that inhabits the water column of oceans, seas, and bodies of fresh water. ... A seaweed (Laurencia) up close: the branches are multicellular and only about 1 mm thick. ... Diagrams of some typical phytoplankton Phytoplankton are the autotrophic component of plankton. ... Capital Hobart Government Constitutional monarchy Governor William Cox Premier Paul Lennon (ALP) Federal representation  - House seats 5  - Senate seats 12 Gross State Product (2004-05)  - Product ($m)  $16,114 (7th)  - Product per capita  $33,243/person (8th) Population (End of September 2006)  - Population  489,600 (6th)  - Density  7. ...

Composition

Fossils in Ordovician kukersite oil shale, northern Estonia.

Organic matter in oil shale consists of the remains of algae, spores, pollen, plant cuticles and corky fragments of herbaceous and woody plants, and cellular debris from other lacustrine, marine, and land plants. While terrestrial oil shales contains resins, spores, waxy cuticles, and corky tissue of roots and stems of vascular terrestrial plants, lacustrine oil shales include lipid-rich organic matter derived from algae, and marine oil shales are composed of marine algae, acritarchs, and marine dinoflagellates. Some oil-shale deposits may also contain non-organic minerals and metals including alum, nahcolite (NaHCO3), dawsonite, sulfur, ammonium sulfate, vanadium, zinc, copper, uranium, and others.^[16] Image File history File linksMetadata No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File linksMetadata No higher resolution available. ... A fossil Ammonite Fossils are the mineralized remains of animals or plants or other traces such as footprints. ... This article is about a biological reproductive structure; for the video game, see Spore (video game). ... SEM image of pollen grains from a variety of common plants: sunflower (Helianthus annuus), morning glory (Ipomoea purpurea), prairie hollyhock (Sidalcea malviflora), oriental lily (Lilium auratum), evening primrose (Oenothera fruticosa), and castor bean (Ricinus communis). ... Plant cuticles are a protective waxy covering produced only by the epidermal cells (Kolattukudy, 1996) of leaves, young shoots and all other aerial plant organs. ... This article is about the plants used in cooking and medicine. ... Debris (French, pronounced (IPA) dibri) is a word used to describe the remains of something that has been otherwise destroyed. ... Acritarchs are small organic structures found as fossils. ... Classes Dinophyceae Noctiluciphyceae Syndiniophyceae The dinoflagellates are a large group of flagellate protists. ... A crystal of alum Alum, Allom [aluminium potassium sulphate], in chemistry, is a term given to the crystallized double sulfates of the typical formula M+2SO4·M3+2(SO4)3·24H2O, where M+ is the sign of an alkali metal (lithium, sodium, potassium, rubidium, or caesium), and M3+ denotes one... Dawsonite is a mineral composed of sodium aluminium carbonate hydroxide, chemical formula NaAlCO3(OH)2. ... General Name, Symbol, Number sulfur, S, 16 Chemical series nonmetals Group, Period, Block 16, 3, p Appearance lemon yellow Standard atomic weight 32. ... Ammonium sulphate, [NH4]2[SO4] contains 21% nitrogen as ammonia and 24% sulfur as sulfate. ... General Name, Symbol, Number vanadium, V, 23 Chemical series transition metals Group, Period, Block 5, 4, d Appearance silver-grey metal Atomic mass 50. ... General Name, Symbol, Number zinc, Zn, 30 Chemical series transition metals Group, Period, Block 12, 4, d Appearance bluish pale gray Standard atomic weight 65. ... General Name, Symbol, Number copper, Cu, 29 Chemical series transition metals Group, Period, Block 11, 4, d Appearance metallic pinkish red Standard atomic weight 63. ... General Name, Symbol, Number uranium, U, 92 Chemical series actinides Group, Period, Block n/a, 7, f Appearance silvery gray metallic; corrodes to a spalling black oxide coat in air Standard atomic weight 238. ...

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Formation

Oil shale is considered to be formed by the deposition of organic matter in lakes, lagoons and restricted estuarine areas such as oxbow lakes, peat bogs, swamps, and muskegs. When plants die in such anaerobic aquatic environments, low oxygen levels prevent their complete decay by bacteria.^{[citation needed]} For masses of undecayed organic matter to be preserved and to form oil shale the environment must remain uniform for prolonged periods of time to build up sufficiently thick sequences of algal matter. Unlike coal, oil shale does not necessarily require low mineral and ash content, as it is used mainly for extraction, and mineral waste in oil liquefaction plants is easier to deal with.^{[citation needed]} Rio de la Plata estuary Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Estuaries An estuary is a semi-enclosed coastal body of water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. ... Songhua River, northeast China. ... Wiktionary has a definition of: Bog Virgin boreal acid bogs at Browns Lake Bog, Ohio A bog is a wetland type that accumulates peat, a deposit of dead plant material. ... Muskeg is a soil type (also a peatland or wetland type called a bog) common in arctic and boreal areas. ... “Spoilage” redirects here. ... Coal Coal (IPA: ) is a fossil fuel formed in swamp ecosystems where plant remains were saved by water and mud from oxidization and biodegradation. ...

Eventually the algal swamp or other restricted environments are disrupted and oil shale accumulation ceases. Burial by sedimentary loading on top of the algal swamp deposits converts the organic matter to kerogen by the following normal diagenetic processes^{[citation needed]}: In geology and oceanography, diagenesis is any chemical, physical, or biological change undergone by a sediment after its initial deposition and during and after its lithification, exclusive of surface alteration (weathering) and metamorphism. ...

• Compaction due to loading of the sediments on the coal which compresses the organic matter
• Removal of the water in the peat
• With ongoing compaction, removal of water from the intracellular structure of fossilized plants
• With heat and compaction, removal of molecular water
• Methanogenesis; similar to treating wood in a pressure cooker, methane is produced, removing hydrogen, some carbon, and some further oxygen (as water)
• Dehydration, which removes hydroxyl groups from the cellulose and other plant molecules, resulting in the production of hydrogen-reduced coals

Lower temperature and pressure during the diagenesis process compared to other modes of hydrocarbon genesis result in the achievement of a lower maturation level shown by oil shale reserves. Continued burial and further applied heating and pressure combined with the correct geological structures could result in the production of oil and gas reservoir from the oil shale source rock.^[17] The largest deposits are found in the remains of large lakes like those deposits at Green River, other deposits can in shallow sea’s that were on continentals shelf's and smaller shale deposits can be found in lagoons and lakes similar depositional environments to where coal is formed.^{[citation needed]} Large lake oil shale basins can be found where there has been block faulting or crustal warping due to mountain building. As a some of the larger deposits known can be found in these regions like along the Rocky Mountains where the majority of Americas oil shale's are located. Deposits such as the Green River can be as much as 600 m (2000 ft) and yield up to 40 gallons of oil for each ton (166 L/t) of shale.^{[citation needed]} Methanogenesis is the formation of methane by microbes. ... Dehydration (hypohydration) is the removal of water (hydro in ancient Greek) from an object. ... In geology and oceanography, diagenesis is any chemical, physical, or biological change undergone by a sediment after its initial deposition and during and after its lithification, exclusive of surface alteration (weathering) and metamorphism. ... Maturation is the increase in the state of maturity. ... The Green River, a tributary of the Colorado, is shown highlighted on a map of the western United States. ... The Rocky Mountains, often called the Rockies, are a broad mountain range in western North America. ...

Shale's formed in the shallow seas of continental shelves generally are much thinner than large lake basin deposits generally in the order of feet or tens of feet thick. They are however due to the depositional nature spread over a very large surface area stretching up to thousands of square kilometres. Of the three lithologic types of shales, siliceous shales are the most commonly found in this environment. These shales are not as energy rich as the previous shales and generally do not contain more than 30 gallons per ton (125 L/t) of shale.^{[citation needed]} Oil shales deposited in lagoonal or small lake environments are rarely extensive and are often associated with coal bearing rocks. These shales though can have high yields close to 40 gallons per ton (166 L/t) of shale however due to their sporadic placement and thin bed nature they are thought to be unlikely candidates for commercial exploitation. Most shales are of the cannel type.^{[citation needed]}

Formations in the United States

The United States has two significant oil-shale deposits which are considered suitable for development due to their size, grade, location and the understanding of them. These two deposits are the Eocene Green River Formation which covers parts of Colorado, Wyoming and Utah, and Devonian deposits in the eastern United States. In both of these plays there are sub-basins in which the volume and quality of the reserves vary. Oil shale in the Green River Formation is found in five sedimentary basins: Green River, Uinta, Piceance Creek, Sand Wash and Washakie. The first three have undergone some significant investigation and attempts to commercialise the oil shale reserves since the 1960’s. The Green River Formation includes deposits from two large lakes which covered an area of over 65,000 square kilometers during the early to middle Eocene period. These lakes were separated by the Uinta uplift and the Axial Basin anticline.^{[citation needed]} For significant periods during their 10-million-year life, the lakes became closed systems allowing for many changes in size, salinity and sediment deposition. Oil shale is a result of abundant blue-green algae that thrived in the lakes during such times.^{[citation needed]} Official language(s) English Capital Denver Largest city Denver Area  Ranked 8th  - Total 104,185 sq mi (269,837 km²)  - Width 280 miles (451 km)  - Length 380 miles (612 km)  - % water 0. ... Official language(s) English Capital Cheyenne Largest city Cheyenne Area  Ranked 10th  - Total 97,818 sq mi (253,348 km²)  - Width 280 miles (450 km)  - Length 360 miles (580 km)  - % water 0. ... Official language(s) English Capital Salt Lake City Largest city Salt Lake City Area  Ranked 13th  - Total 84,889 sq mi (219,887 km²)  - Width 270 miles (435 km)  - Length 350 miles (565 km)  - % water 3. ... The Green River Formation is an Eocene geologic formation that records the sedimentation in a series of intermontane lakes. ... hfajhfiudshfas == == == --24. ... This view of Kings Peak and the Henrys Fork Basin shows the cliff bands and basins typical throughout the Uintas. ... A seaweed (Laurencia) up close: the branches are multicellular and only about 1 mm thick. ...

The oil shale that underlies almost three quarters of a million square kilometers in the eastern United States was formed in a marine depositional environment very different from the Green River Basins. These deposits have also undergone commercialisation attempts; they are also resources for natural gas and have been mined for low-grade oil shale. These oil shales were formed during the Late Devonian and Early Mississippian periods. During this time much of the eastern United States was covered by a large shallow sea. The oil shale is thought to have been the result of slow deposition of planktonic algae under quiet conditions. In parts close to the shoreline the organic mixture that helped form the oil shale contains organic-rich sediment from the rising Appalachian mountains.^{[citation needed]} Natural gas is a gaseous fossil fuel consisting primarily of methane but including significant quantities of ethane, butane, propane, carbon dioxide, nitrogen, helium and hydrogen sulfide. ... Artists illustration of a Devonian scene. ... Appalachians in North Carolina The Appalachian Mountains (French: les Appalaches) are a vast system of mountains in eastern North America. ...

Brazilian oil shale formations

Brazil has nine significant oil shale deposits. The size, location and quality of shale oil deposits in the Paraiba Valley and the Irati Formation have attraced the most attention. The two contain an estimated 1.4 billion barrels of in-situ shale oil with total resources as much as 3 or more billion barrels. While the Irati Formation play is the smaller of the two, containing an estimated 600 million barrels in-situ compared to 840 million in the Paraiba Valley formation, it is the more economically viable.^{[citation needed]} 3. ...

The Irati Formation consists of two beds of oil shale separated by 12 m of limestone and shale. The upper layer is thicker (approximately 9 m) but the thinner lower bed (4 m) is of greater value; the weight percent of shale oil yield is around 12% compared to 7%. This oil shale yield varies depending on location, and may be as little as 7% for the lower and 4% for the upper layer. The formation is a very fine grained and laminated deposit ranging in colour from dark grey to brown to black. 60-70% of the shale is clay minerals; organic matter makes up the rest.^{[citation needed]} No definitive consensus has been reached on the exact depositional nature of the shale. The two leading theories are that the organic material is from an algae deposited in a freshwater to brackish lacustrine environment. Alternatively, the organic sediment may have been deposited in a shallow, partially restricted marine basin. Hutton^{[citation needed]} has described it as a marine source shale.

Reserves

Main article: Oil shale reserves

The world deposits of oil shale are estimated to be equal to 2.9-3.3 trillion barrels of recoverable oil. Although oil shale resources occur in many countries, only 33 countries possess deposits of economic value.^[9] Total resources of these countries are estimated at 411 billion tonnes, which is equal to 2.9 trillion U.S. barrels.^[16] Among those, USA accounts for 62% of the world resources, and USA, Russia and Brazil together account for 86% in terms of shale oil content.^[9] The above mentioned figure of total reserves is conservative because several deposits have not been explored sufficiently to make accurate estimates, and other deposits were not included.^[16][18] Oil shale reserves are diversely spread through out the earth, being found on every continent with perhaps the exception Antarctica. ...

Estimating shale oil reserves is complicated by several factors. First, the amount of kerogen contained in oil shale deposits varies considerably. Second, some nations report as reserves the total amount of kerogen in place, which means all kerogen regardless of technical or economic constraints, and not as an estimate of kerogen which may be extracted from identified and assayed oil shale rock using available technology and under current economic conditions. Third, by definition, "reserves" refers only to the amount of resource which is technically exploitable and economically feasible under current economic conditions. Fourth, shale oil recovery technologies are still developing, so the amount of recoverable kerogen can only be estimated.^{[citation needed]}

The table below reports reserves by amount of shale oil. Shale oil refers to synthetic oil obtained by heating organic material (kerogen) contained in oil shale rock to a temperature which will convert it to oil, combustible gas, and residual carbon that remains in the spent shale. All figures are presented in barrels and metric tons ("tonnes", equal to 2204.6 pounds).^[19]

Africa

Major oil shale deposits are located in the Democratic Republic of Congo (equal to 14.31 billion tonnes of shale oil) and Morocco (12.3 billion tonnes or 8.16 billion tonnes of shale oil). The biggest deposits in Morocco are Tarfaya and Timahdit. There are oil shale reserves also in Egypt, South Africa, Madagascar and Nigeria.^[16] Tarfaya is a city on the southwestern coast of Morocco. ...

Asia

Major oil shale deposits are located in China (total, 32 billion tonnes of which technically exploitable and economically feasible is 4.4 billion tonnes), Thailand (18.7 billion tonnes), Kazakhstan (several deposits; major deposit at Kenderlyk Field with 4 billion tonnes) and Turkey (2.2 billion tonnes).^[16][13][20] There are oil shale reserves also in Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Myanmar, Armenia and Mongolia. The main Chinese oil shale deposits and production lie in Fushun and Liaoning; others are in Maoming in Guangdong, Huadian in Jilin, Heilongjiang and Shandong. In 2002, China produced more than 90,000 tonnes of shale oil.^[20] Thailand's oil shale deposits are near Mae Sot, Tak Province, and at Li, Lamphun Province. Deposits in Turkey are located mainly in middle and western Anatolia.^[16] Location within China Fushun (Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: ) is a city in Liaoning, China, about 45 km from Shenyang, with a population about 1. ...   (Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: Liáoníng) is a northeastern province of the Peoples Republic of China. ... Maoming (茂名) is one of the largest city in the west of Guangdong province of the Peoples Republic of China. ... Guangdong, often spelt as Kwangtung, is a province on the south coast of the Peoples Republic of China. ... Huadian is a city in Jilin province in northern China. ...   (Chinese: ; Pinyin: Jílín; Wade-Giles: Chi-lin; Postal System Pinyin: Kirin; Manchu: Girin ula), is a province of the Peoples Republic of China located in the northeastern part of the country. ... Heilongjiang (Simplified Chinese: 黑龙江省; Traditional Chinese: 黑龍江省; Hanyu Pinyin: ; Postal System Pinyin: Heilungkiang) is a province of the Peoples Republic of China located in the northeastern part of the country. ...   (Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Shan-tung) is a coastal province of eastern Peoples Republic of China. ... Mae Sot (Thai: แม่สอด) is a town and district in Tak Province, Thailand at the Thai-Myanmar border with Moei River as natural boundary. ... Tak (Thai ตาก) is one of the northern provinces (changwat) of Thailand. ... Li (Thai: ) is the southernmost district (Amphoe) of Lamphun Province, northern Thailand. ... Lamphun (Thai ลำพูน) is one of the northern provinces (changwat) of Thailand. ... Anatolia and Europe Anatolia (Turkish: from Greek: Ανατολία - Anatolia) is a peninsula of Western Asia which forms the greater part of the Asian portion of Turkey, as opposed to the European portion (Thrace, or traditionally Rumelia). ...

Europe

The biggest oil shale reserves in Europe are located in Russia (equal to 35.47 billion tonnes of shale oil). Main deposits are located in the Volga-Petchyorsk province and the Baltic Basin. Other major oil shale deposits in Europe are located in Italy (10.45 billion tonnes of shale oil), Estonia (2.49 billion tonnes of shale oil), France (1 billion tonnes of shale oil), Belarus (1 billion tonnes of shale oil), Sweden (875 million tonnes of shale oil), Ukraine (600 million tonnes of shale oil) and the United Kingdom (500 million tonnes of shale oil). There are oil shale reserves also in Germany, Luxembourg, Spain, Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Austria, Albania and Romania.^[16]

Middle East

Major oil shale deposits are located in Jordan (5,242 million tonnes of shale oil or 65 billion tonnes of oil shale) and Israel (550 million tonnes of shale oil or 6.5 billion tonnes of oil shale). Jordanian oil shales are high quality, comparable to western US oil shale, with the exception of high sulfur content. The most explored deposits are El Lajjun, Sultani and the Juref ed Darawishare located in west-central Jordan, while Yarmouk close to the northern border extends into Syria.^[16][21] Most of Israel's deposits are located in the Rotem Basin region of the northern Negev desert near the Dead Sea. Israeli oil shale is relatively low in heating value and oil yield.^[16][22] The Yarmouk River (Arabic:Nahr Al-Yarmuk; Hebrew:נהר הירמוך, Nehar HaYarmukh; Greek:Hieromax) is one of the three main tributaries which enter the Jordan River between the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea (the other being the Jabbok). ... Rock face in the Negev Desert near Beersheba on the way to Eilat. ... The Dead Sea (‎, Sea of Salt; Arabic: ) is a salt lake between the West Bank and Israel to the west, and Jordan to the east. ...

North America

At 3.3 trillion tonnes, the oil shale deposits in the United States are easily the largest in the world. There are two major deposits: the eastern US deposits, in Devonian-Mississippian shales, cover 250,000 square miles (650,000 square kilometers); the western US deposits of the Green River Formation in Colorado, Wyoming and Utah, are among the richest oil shale deposits in the world.^[16][23] In Canada 19 deposits have been identified. The most explored deposits are in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick.^[24] The Green River Formation is an Eocene geologic formation that records the sedimentation in a series of intermontane lakes. ... Official language(s) English Capital Denver Largest city Denver Area  Ranked 8th  - Total 104,185 sq mi (269,837 km²)  - Width 280 miles (451 km)  - Length 380 miles (612 km)  - % water 0. ... Official language(s) English Capital Cheyenne Largest city Cheyenne Area  Ranked 10th  - Total 97,818 sq mi (253,348 km²)  - Width 280 miles (450 km)  - Length 360 miles (580 km)  - % water 0. ... Official language(s) English Capital Salt Lake City Largest city Salt Lake City Area  Ranked 13th  - Total 84,889 sq mi (219,887 km²)  - Width 270 miles (435 km)  - Length 350 miles (565 km)  - % water 3. ... Motto: Munit Haec et Altera Vincit(Latin) One defends and the other conquers Capital Halifax Largest city Halifax Regional Municipality Official languages English Government - Lieutenant-Governor Mayann E. Francis - Premier Rodney MacDonald (PC) Federal representation in Canadian Parliament - House seats 11 - Senate seats 10 Confederation July 1, 1867 (1st) Area... Motto: Spem reduxit (Hope restored) Capital Fredericton Largest city Saint John Official languages English, French (the only constitutionally bilingual province in the country) Government - Lieutenant-Governor Herménégilde Chiasson - Premier Shawn Graham (Liberal) Federal representation in Canadian Parliament - House seats 10 - Senate seats 10 Confederation July 1, 1867 (1st...

Oceania

Australia's oil shale resource is estimated to be around 58 billion tonnes or 4,531 million tonnes of shale oil. The deposits are located in the eastern and southern states with the biggest potential in the eastern Queensland deposits.^[16] There is also oil shale in New Zealand.^[25] Capital Brisbane Government Constitutional monarchy Governor Quentin Bryce Premier Peter Beattie (ALP) Federal representation  - House seats 28  - Senate seats 12 Gross State Product (2004-05)  - Product ($m)  $158,506 (3rd)  - Product per capita  $40,170/person (6th) Population (End of November 2006)  - Population  4,164,590 (3rd)  - Density  2. ...

South America

Brazil has the world's second largest known oil shale resources (the Irati shale and lacustrine deposits) and has the second largest shale oil production after Estonia. Oil shale resources occur in São Mateus do Sul, Paraná, and in Vale do Paraíba. Brazil developed the world’s largest surface oil shale pyrolysis retort Petrosix, an 11-m vertical shaft retort. Production in 1999 was about 200,000 tonnes.^[26][13] Small resources are also found in Argentina, Chile, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela.^[27] Flag of Paraná See other Brazilian States Capital Curitiba Largest City Curitiba Area 199,544 km² Population   - Total   - Density 9,150,000 48 inh. ... 3. ... Petrosix is currently the world’s largest surface oil shale pyrolysis reactor with 11-m diameter vertical shaft kiln, operational since 1992. ...

Industry

Main article: Oil shale industry

Currently oil shale is used industrially in Brazil, China, Estonia and to some extent in Germany, Israel and Russia, while several other countries research their reserves, have experimental production or have phase-out their oil shale industry.^[28] Estonia accounts for about 70% of the world's oil shale production.^[29] Oil shale is used industrially in Brazil, China, Estonia and to some extent in Germany, Israel and Russia. ...

History of usage

Production of oil shale in millions of metric tons from Estonia (Estonia deposit), Russia (Leningrad and Kashpir deposits), United Kingdom (Scotland, Lothians), Brazil (Iratí Formation), China (Maoming and Fushun deposits), and Germany (Dotternhausen) from 1880 to 2000.^[16]

Oil shale has been used since ancient times. In 1637, Swedish alum shale of Cambrian and Ordovician age was used for extracting potassium aluminium sulfate.^[28] The modern use of oil shale for shale oil production dates to the mid-19th century. In 1837 oil shale mining began at the Autun mines in France, and continued until 1957.^[26] In 1847 the Scottish chemist James Young prepared "lighting oil," lubricating oil and wax from torbanite. In 1850 he patented the process of cracking oil.^[30] Oil from oil shale was produced in Scotland from 1857 until 1962 when production ceased due to the lower cost of petroleum.^[28] Germany developed its shale oil industry from mid-19th century until the 1940s. Today, only Rohrbach Zement in Dotternhausen uses oil shale for cement, and power and thermal energy production.^[28] Sweden retorted oil from shale from the end of the 19th century until 1966. In addition, in 1950-1989 alum shale was used in Sweden for uranium production and in the 1960s a small amount of vanadium was produced.^[16][28] Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 × 444 pixelsFull resolution (1019 × 566 pixel, file size: 58 KB, MIME type: image/png) From the U.S. Geological Survey, report Geology and Resources of Some World Oil-Shale Deposits http://pubs. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 × 444 pixelsFull resolution (1019 × 566 pixel, file size: 58 KB, MIME type: image/png) From the U.S. Geological Survey, report Geology and Resources of Some World Oil-Shale Deposits http://pubs. ... A crystal of alum Alum, Allom [aluminium potassium sulphate], in chemistry, is a term given to the crystallized double sulfates of the typical formula M+2SO4·M3+2(SO4)3·24H2O, where M+ is the sign of an alkali metal (lithium, sodium, potassium, rubidium, or caesium), and M3+ denotes one... The Cambrian is a major division of the geologic timescale that begins about 542 ± 1. ... The Ordovician period is the second of the six (seven in North America) periods of the Paleozoic era. ... Aluminium sulfate is a widely used industrial chemical. ... Year 1957 (MCMLVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link displays the 1957 Gregorian calendar). ... James Youngs gravestone in Inverkip (photo by Thomas Nugent) James Young (13 July 1811–May 13, 1883), a Scottish chemist, was born in Glasgow, the son of a joiner and carpenter. ... Factory of Shukhov cracking process, Baku, USSR, 1934 In petroleum geology and chemistry, cracking is the process whereby complex organic molecules such as kerogens or heavy hydrocarbons are broken down into simpler molecules (e. ... Motto (Latin) No one provokes me with impunity Cha togar mfhearg gun dioladh (Scottish Gaelic) Wha daur meddle wi me?(Scots)1 Anthem (Multiple unofficial anthems) Scotlands location in Europe and the United Kingdom Capital Edinburgh Largest city Glasgow Official languages English, Gaelic and Scots1 Government Constitutional monarchy... 1857 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... Year 1962 (MCMLXII) was a common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1962 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Dotternhausen is a town in the Zollernalbkreis district, in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. ...

Estonia first used oil shale as a low-grade fuel in 1838 after attempts to distill oil from the material failed. Estonia's resource was not seriously exploited until fuel shortages during World War I made it viable. Mining began in 1918 and has continued since, with the size of operation increasing with demand. After World War II, Estonian-produced oil shale gas was used in Leningrad and the cities in North Estonia as a substitute for natural gas.^[31][32] Two large oil shale-fired power stations were opened, a 1,400-MW plant in 1965 and a 1,600-MW plant in 1973. Oil shale production peaked in 1980 at 31.35 million tonnes. However, in 1981 the fourth reactor of the Sosnovy Bor nuclear power station opened nearby in Leningrad Oblast of Russia, reducing demand for Estonian shale. Production gradually decreased until 1995, since which time production has increased again slightly.^[28] “The Great War ” redirects here. ... Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... Leningrad (Russian: Ленинград) may mean: St. ... Oil power plant in Iraq A power station (also referred to as generating station or power plant) is a facility for the generation of electric power. ... The megawatt (symbol: MW) is a unit for measuring power corresponding to one million (106) watts. ... A tonne or metric ton (symbol t), sometimes referred to as a metric tonne, is a measurement of mass equal to 1,000 kilograms. ... , Sosnovy Bor (Russian: ) is a town in Leningrad Oblast, Russia, situated on the southern coast of the Gulf of Finland, 81 km west of St. ... A nuclear power plant (NPP) is a thermal power station in which the heat source is one or more nuclear reactors. ... Leningrad Oblast (Russian: , tr. ...

Australia mined 4 million tonnes of oil shale between 1862 and 1952, when government support of mining ceased. Since the 1970s, oil companies have been exploring again possible reserves.^[28] From 2000 to 2004 a demonstration-scale processing plant at the Stuart Deposit near Gladstone, Queensland produced over 1.5 million barrels of oil. The facility is now on care-and-maintenance in an operable condition, and the operator of the plant — Queensland Energy Resources — is conducting research and design studies for the next phase of its oil shale operations.^[33] Brazil has produced oil from oil shales since 1935. Since 1954 Oil shale development has been the focus of a specific department with in Petrobras named, Superintendencia da Industrializaco do Xisto (SIX). Initially SIX focused on oil shales in the larger Paraíba formation but has now since since refocued development in the Irati shale. The pilot plant with a prototype oil-shale retort was started in 1972 before using Petrosix technology in 1982 and the commercial production started in 1992.^[28] China has been mining oil shale since the 1920s near Fushun and Maoming.^[3][28] Russia has been mining its reserves since the 1930s. As most of Russian oil shale mines were closed on 1990s, the current production continues on a small-scale basis.^[28] Canada has produced some shale oil in mid of 1800s and in 1929-1930. Some experimental processing took place also in 1988.^[28] For other uses, see Gladstone (disambiguation). ... Petrosix is currently the world’s largest surface oil shale pyrolysis reactor with 11-m diameter vertical shaft kiln, operational since 1992. ... Location within China Fushun (Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: ) is a city in Liaoning, China, about 45 km from Shenyang, with a population about 1. ... Maoming (茂名) is one of the largest city in the west of Guangdong province of the Peoples Republic of China. ...

The United States has seen some attempts at large-scale exploitation. Oil distilled from shale was first burnt for horticultural purposes in the 19th century, but it was not until the 1900s that larger investigations were made. The Office of Naval Petroleum and Oil Shale Reserves was established in 1912. The reserves were seen as a possible emergency source of fuel for the military, particularly the Navy.^{[citation needed]} After World War II, the US Bureau of Mines opened a demonstration mine at Anvils Point, just west of Rifle, Colorado, which operated at a small-scale.^{[citation needed]} In the early sixties TOSCO (The Oil Shale Corporation) opened an underground mine and built an experimental plant near Parachute, Colorado. It closed in the late sixties because the price of production exceeded the cost of imported crude oil.^{[citation needed]} It was not until the oil crisis of the 1970s and the US becoming a net importer of oil that efforts at utilization were increased. Military uses were deemed less important and commercial exploitation came to the fore, with several oil companies investing. Unocal returned to the same area where TOSCO had worked. Several billion dollars were spent until declining oil prices rendered production uneconomical once more and Unocal withdrew in 1991.^{[citation needed]} The oil shale development program was initiated in 2003 in support of President Bush’s National Energy Policy.^[34] The Energy Policy Act of 2005 introduced a commercial leasing program for oil shale and tar sands resources on public lands with an emphasis on the most geologically prospective lands within each of the states of Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming.^[35] The federal government currently owns 72% of all known oil shale in the United States. Horticulture (Latin: hortus (garden plant) + cultura (culture)) is classically defined as the culture or growing of garden plants. ... The United States Office of Naval Petroleum and Oil Shale Reserves is part of the US Department of Energy. ... {{ USN redirects here. ... Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... For most of the 20th century, the U.S. Bureau of Mines (USBM) was the primary United States Government agency conducting scientific research and disseminating information on the extraction, processing, use, and conservation of mineral resources. ... Rifle is a city located in Garfield County, Colorado. ... Tosco (The Oil Shale COrporation) was an independent U.S. based petroleum refining and marketing corporation. ... Parachute is a town located in Garfield County, Colorado. ... Oil crisis may refer to: 1973 oil crisis 1979 energy crisis 1990 spike in the price of oil Oil price increases of 2004 and 2005 Hubbert peak theory Energy crisis This is a disambiguation page: a list of articles associated with the same title. ... The Unocal Corporation (NYSE: UCL), based in Los Angeles, California, was founded in 1890 as the Union Oil Company of California. ... Oil price in 2003-2005 The price of light, sweet crude oil on NYMEX has been above $40/barrel since late July 2004. ... The Unocal Corporation (NYSE: UCL), based in Los Angeles, California, was founded in 1890 as the Union Oil Company of California. ... The Energy Policy Act of 2005 (Pub. ...

Mining

The oil shale is mined either by traditional underground mining or surface mining techniques. There are several mining methods, but the aim of all of them is the fragmenting of oil shale deposit to enable the transport of shale fragments to a power plant or retorting facility. Main methods of surface mining are open pit mining and strip mining. The main sub-surface mining method is the room-and-pillar method.^[36] Sub-surface mining or underground mining refers to a group of techniques used for the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... The El Chino mine located near Silver City, New Mexico is an open-pit copper mine Open-pit mining refers to a method of extracting rock or minerals from the earth by their removal from an open pit or borrow. ... Strip mining is the practice of mining a seam of mineral ore by first removing all of the soil and rock that lies on top of it. ...

Power generation

Oil shale could be used as a fuel for thermal power plants, where the shale is burned like coal to drive steam turbines. Currently there are oil shale-fired power plants in Estonia (2967 MW installed capacities), Israel (12.5 MW), Germany (9.9 MW), and China.^[9][20] While some countries have closed their oil shale-fired power plants (e.g. Romania) or converted to other fuels (e.g. Russia), some other countries are looking for construction of these power plants (e.g. Jordan and Egypt), or burn oil shale at the power plants together with coal (e.g. Canada and Turkey).^[9][21][37]

There are three technologies for combustion:^[2]

• Pulverized Combustion (PC) - used in the older units of oil shale-fired power plants in Estonia
• Fluidized Bed Combustion (FBC) - used by Rohrbach Zement in Dotternhausen, Germany
• Circulated Fluidized Bed (CFB) - used in two new units at Narva Power Plants in Estonia, Huadian Power Plant in China, and PAMA power plant at Mishor Rotem in Israel.

The most modern technology of a combustion of oil shale in power plants is a bubbling fluidized bed (BFB) or circulating fluidized bed (CFB) process, while the traditional way of burning oil shale is through pulverized combustion.^[38][9] Huadian is a city in Jilin province in northern China. ... It has been suggested that Fluidized-bed combustion be merged into this article or section. ...

Oil extraction

Main article: Oil shale extraction

At present, the major shale oil producers are Estonia, Brazil and China, while some other countries as Australia, USA, Canada and Jordan have planned to start or restart shale oil production.^[9][21] Although there are several oil shale retorting technologies, only five technologies are currently in commercial use, which are Kiviter, Galoter, Fushun, Petrosix, and Alberta Taciuk.^[39] Oil shale extraction refers to the process that converts kerogen, an immature form of hydrocarbon trapped in the oil shale, into a useable hydrocarbons in form of a petroleum-like shale oil—a form of non-conventional oil—and combustible shale gas. ...

The two main methods of extracting oil from shale are ex-situ and in-situ.

Ex-situ

In case of the ex-situ method, the oil shale is/can be mined either by traditional underground mining or surface mining from the ground and then transported to a processing facility. At the facility, the shale is usually heated to 450–500 °C (750-950°F). At this temperature, the kerogen in the shale decomposes to gas, oil vapour and char, a process known as retorting. The gas and oil vapours are separated from the spent shale and cooled causing the oil to condense. The oil may be sold as a fuel oil or upgraded to meet refinery feed specifications by adding hydrogen and removing impurities such as sulphur and nitrogen. The non-condensible retort gas and char on the spent shale may be burned and the heat may be recovered for heating the raw shale or generating electricity. Combustion exhaust gases and water condenced with the oil need to be treated prior to emission to the environment. Usually the spent shale is cooled and moistened with water before disposal back to the mine, settling ponds or tailing piles.

There are hundreds of patents for oil shale retorting technologies. However, only a few dozen have been tested in a pilot plant (1 to 10 t/h) and less than 10 technologies have been tested at a demonstration scale (40 to 400 t/h). One method of classifying the different ex-situ technologies is by the method that is used to heat the shale to retorting temperature. The classes are internal combustion technologies, hot recycled solids technologies, conduction through a wall technologies, externally generated hot gas technologies, and reactive fluids technologies.^[40]