Decomposition studies of oil shale

There has been a considerable amount of investigation into the kinetics and mechanisms of oil shale decomposition and into the effects of various experimental parameters on the nature of the product oils. There is a need, however, for further kinetic study of Colorado oil shales. Also the methods used by most of the past investigators place considerable doubt on the validity of their kinetic interpretations. Studies of the in situ method of retorting oil shale have been carried out for many years but a method suggested by Mr. J. L. Dougan, the use of heated natural gas in an in situ decomposition is untested. The purpose of the study reported in this thesis was two-fold. First an attempt was made to learn more about the basic nature of the pyrolysis of oil shale kerogen. There were indications that the kinetic and mechanistic treatments given to the decomposition of oil shale by early investigators did not fit the actual situation. A re-examination of the kinetics of kerogen decomposition by monitoring the gaseous products as a function of time was attempted. Also it was hoped that a model could be proposed which would better explain the data collected by earlier investigators. Secondly, the intent was to learn more about the parameters involved in the in situ removal of kerogen from oil shale using natural gas as the heating medium.