Review of oil shale semicoke and its combustion utilization

Identifying the reaction mechanism of oil-shale self-heating retorting by thermal analysis techniques

“…It contains complex macromolecular organic matter called kerogen which is finely distributed in an inorganic matrix [4]. The kerogen cannot be extracted with ordinary solvents due to its macromolecular character [5]. Thus heating is required to break down the kerogen network structure and then petroleum-like shale oil is released by retorting or pyrolysis [1,6].…”

“…The primary byproduct of ex-situ retorting is semicoke waste, a solid carbonaceous residue containing minerals and heavy metals [8]. Because OS has much high mineral contents as compared to coal, the yield of semicoke is usually as high as 70-90% by mass of the original OS [5]. The resulting semicoke waste has been accumulated in large waste piles, which poses a huge threat to the surrounding environment [5,9,10].…”

“…Because OS has much high mineral contents as compared to coal, the yield of semicoke is usually as high as 70-90% by mass of the original OS [5]. The resulting semicoke waste has been accumulated in large waste piles, which poses a huge threat to the surrounding environment [5,9,10]. Although some semicoke finds its application to construction materials, it represents only a small fraction of the total semicoke produced [11,12].…”

Framework for advanced exergoeconomic performance analysis and optimization of an oil shale retorting process

“…Oil shale enters the retorting stage after preheating. In this stage, oil shale is converted into shale oil, retorting gas, and semi-coke at 0.1 MPa and 525 C [56]. The semi-coke is fed to the gasification stage, where it reacts with carbon dioxide and steam at 950 C [57].…”

Thermoeconomic analysis of oil shale retorting processes with gas or solid heat carrier

“…Nowadays, oil can rarely satisfy the increasing demand of energy in the world [11]. Exploitation of alternative energy resources is attracting increasing attention.…”