Shale oil value enhancement research - Quarterly report: April 1 - June 30, 1995

A review of the marketing, compositional analysis, and process data has pointed to a simplification of the process scheme envisaged for the phase-II continuous process work. This translates into a higher probability of success, both for the R&D and the likelihood of securing an industrial partner for future commercialization.. The phase-II PDU construction work is well-along and will be completed in the next quarter. The high efficiency distillation unit is complete and the liquid-liquid extraction unit is operable at ambient temperature and pressure conditions. In the last quarter, JWBA experienced a personnel change. Dr. Prasad Devineni who was handling most of the information gathering including market research took a job with a chemical marketing consulting firm. In his place we hired Dr. Chung-Hsi (Jesse) Tsai who has extensive experience in process development. His services will greatly enhance the productivity in phase-II. We also commissioned the consulting services of Dr. Geoff Dolbear to assist in the industrial liaison. We also employed two chemistry students for work over the summer and possibly into the school year. The current team is well-suited for the forthcoming tasks of running the PDlPs and preparing samples for introduction to potential buyers and partners.