Pressurized fluidized-bed hydroretorting of Eastern oil shales. Annual report, June 1991--May 1992

The Devonian oil shales of the Eastern United States are a significant domestic energy resource. The overall objective of the multi-year program, initiated in October 1987 by the US Department of Energy is to perform the research necessary to develop the Pressurized Fluidized-Bed Hydroretorting (PFH) process for producing oil from Eastern oil shales. The program also incorporates research on technologies in areas such as raw shale preparation, beneficiation, product separation, and waste disposal that have the potential of improving the economics and/or environmental acceptability of recovering oil from oil shales using the PFH process. The results of the original 3-year program, which was concluded in May 1991, have been summarized in a four-volume final report published by IGT. DOE subsequently approved a 1-year extension to the program to further develop the PFH process specifically for application to beneficiated shale as feedstock. Studies have shown that beneficiated shale is the preferred feedstock for pressurized hydroretorting. The program extension is divided into the following active tasks. Task 3. testing of process improvement concepts; Task 4. beneficiation research; Task 5. operation of PFH on beneficiated shale; Task 6. environmental data and mitigation analyses; Task 7. sample procurement, preparation, and characterization; and Task 8.more » project management and reporting. In order to accomplish all the program objectives, the Institute of Gas Technology (IGT), the prime contractor, worked with four other institutions: the University of Alabama/Mineral Resources Institute (MRI), the University of Kentucky Center for Applied Energy Research (UK-CAER), the University of Nevada (UN) at Reno, and Tennessee Technological University (TTU). This report presents the work performed during the program extension from June 1, 1991 through May 31, 1992.« less