RECOVERY OF ORGANIC MATTER FROM GREEN RIVER OIL SHALE AT TEMPERATURES OF 400°C AND BELOW

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Abstract
Experiments to recover organic matter from Green River oil shale in high yields at temperatures of 400°C and below are described. Three different recovery procedures are discussed: 1) experiments wherein liquid organic materials were extracted at atmospheric pressure and temperatures below 75°C by solvents of different strengths, 2) autoclave experiments where liquid organics were recovered by heating the shale with a variety of solvents at temperatures between 300 and 400°C and pressures between 5 and 32 MPa, and 3) an autoclave experiment where liquid organics were recovered by heating shale in an argon atmosphere for 1 hour at 400°C. The liquid organic materials recovered in these experiments represent from four to 90 weight percent of the total organic material in the shale. The liquid organic materials have an average molecular weight of between 500 and 600 amu as compared to a typical shale oil that has an average molecular weight of 300 to 350 amu. Elemental analyses show that the liquid organic materials contain high percentages of hydrogen and nitrogen, as does shale oil. Moreover, the liquid organic materials also contain much larger concentrations of oxygen-containing compounds than shale oil. The experimental results suggest the possibility of developing a new process for recovering both organic and inorganic material from Green River shale.