Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory oil shale project (Nov 1981)

A preliminary process flowsheet for a commercial-size, aboveground, countercurrent, gas-combustion retort system has been developed. Flowsheet data are based on an overall mass and energy balance code which uses the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory one-dimensional retort model in conjunction with models for the physical processes external to the retort (e.g., condenser and blowers). The principal purpose of the flowsheet is to predict the retorting results and the process interrelationships for conditions to be encountered in a typical commercial operation. After similar flowsheets are developed for a number of surface retort systems, they can be used to help assess the advantages and disadvantages of the various generic processes and to help determine the most important areas for additional experimental work.