Process for retorting oil shale and the like
AssigneeGeorgia Oil & Gas Co., Inc.
InventorLouis Strumskis
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The production of oil by retorting shale and other hydrocarbonaceous and lignocellulosic solid materials is facilitated by retorting in the presence of steam and acetic acid.
Claims32
In a process for the production of a hydrocarbonaceous oil by heating a hydrocarbonaceous or liquocellulosic solid material to form a non-volatile residue and a distillate comprising a hydrocarbonaceous oil, the improvement which comprises mixing the starting material with steam and acetic acid prior to and during the formation of the distillate in amounts effective to increase the amount of distillate thus produced and heating the resulting mixture to a final temperature of at least 450.degree. C.
In a process for the production of a hydrocarbonaceous oil by heating a hydrocarbonaceous or lignocellulosic solid material to form a non-volatile residue and a distillate comprising a hydrocarbonaceous oil, the improvement which comprises preheating the starting solid material and subsequently forming the non-volatile residue and distillate by heating the preheated solid material and injecting steam and acetic acid into the heated solid material.
A process for the thermal conversion of acetic acid into a higher boiling distillable organic material comprising the steps of:
- (a) passing a mixture of steam and acetic acid through a bed of hydrocarbonaceous or lignocellulosic solid material at a temperature effective to convert a portion of the organic material in the solid material into a distillable hydrocarbonaceous oil and another portion thereof and the acetic acid into a more hydrophilic distillable organic material and further effective to volatilize the thus-produced more hydrophilic organic material and the hydrocarbonaceous oil;
- (b) separating the volatilized material from the residual non-volatile material;
- (c) condensing the volatilized material;
- (d) separating the more hydrophilic organic material from the hydrocarbonaceous oil;
- and
- (e) recovering the thus-produced more hydrophilic organic material and the hydrocarbonaceous oil.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.