Enhanced recovery of hydrocarbonaceous fluids oil shale

In a hydrogen transfer reaction process for recovering hydrocarbonaceous fluids from oil shale where a mixture of oil shale and a normally liquid hydrocarbon is reacted under initial substantially atmospheric pressure and a temperature below the retorting temperature of the shale for a period of time sufficient to recover hydrocarbonaceous fluids from the oil shale wherein the normally liquid hydrocarbon does not comprise greater than 25% of hydrogen donating compounds, the improvement comprising:

• (a) cooling the reactants and recovering by distillation said hydrocarbonaceous fluids from said shale;
• (b) extracting the reacted shale with a solvent selected from a member of the group consisting of heptane, pyridine, tetrahydrofuran and mixtures thereof, which results in a substantial increase in the recovery of hydrocarbonaceous fluids in a resultant extract;
• and
• (c) thereafter stripping said solvent from said extract and recovering the hydrocarbonaceous fluids, which fluids contain substantially reduced amounts of hydrocarbonaceous gases and substantially increased amounts of hydrocarbonaceous liquids.

In a hydrogen transfer reaction process for improving the recovery of oil from oil shale comprising the steps of bringing a mixture of oil shale and a hydrocarbon fluid to a temperature below the retorting temperature of said shale wherein the hydrocarbon fluid has a distillation temperature of not less than 625.degree. F.;

• reacting the mixture at a temperature in the range of about 300.degree. C. to about 450.degree. C. in the absence of added pressure for a period of time of at least 0.5 minutes to about 10 minutes for a period of time sufficient to recover hydrocarbonaceous fluids from said oil shale wherein said liquid hydrocarbon to oil shale ratio is about 1:10 by weight, the improvement comprising:
• (a) cooling the reactants and recovering by distillation said hydrocarbonaceous fluids from said shale;
• (b) extracting the reacted shale with a solvent selected from a member of the group consisting of heptane, pyridine, tetrahydrofuran and mixtures thereof;
• and
• (c) stripping said solvent from a resultant extract and recovering said hydrocarbonaceous fluids, which fluids contain substantially reduced amounts of hydrocarbonaceous gases and substantially increased amounts of hydrocarbonaceous liquids greater than 100 percent Fischer assay when combined with said hydrocarbonaceous fluids of step (a) and which combined fluids contain substantially reduced amounts of hydrogen sulfide.