Chapter 9
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Processing and Characterization of Shale Oil New Methods for Characterization of the Effluent from Thermal Cracking of Oil Scale and the Products from Microactivity Testing of Its Atmospheric Residue *
Yevgenia Briker , Zbigniew Ring, and Cecilia Sin 1
1
National Center for Upgrading Technology, O i l Patch Drive, Devon, Alberta T 9 C 1A8, Canada
Most of the crude oils used for fuel production consist predominantly of hydrocarbons and contain only relatively small amounts of sulphur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Shale oils, in contrast, can contain large amounts of organic sulphur and/or oxygen compounds. Therefore, during processing of shale oils, in addition to making fuels, there may be opportunities to extract valuable chemicals. Knowledge of the physical and chemical properties of these shale oils is very important for the development of technologies necessary to fully utilize them. In this chapter we discuss detailed chemical characterization of the material derived from severe thermal treatment of oil shale. We also examine the potential for increasing its utilization through application of the fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) process to its atmospheric residue fraction boiling between 320 and 750°C.
© 2005 American Chemical Society In Heavy Hydrocarbon Resources; Nomura, M., et al.; ACS Symposium Series; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 2005.
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124 The scope o f this study includes analytical characterization of thermally cracked shale oil for the purpose of developing a conceptual process design for upgrading of this material to make marketable products and to enable estimation of their value. This characterization was carried out to assess the feasibility of extracting valuable phenolic compounds as the first processing step, and utilizing the remaining hydrocarbon matrix for fuel production. With respect to assessing further processability of shale oil, a simulated fluid catalytic cracking of the atmospheric residue fraction was carried out and the value o l the effluent from this process was also assessed. Fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) is the most important heavy gas oil conversion process. F C C generates products ranging from light olefins through to naphtha (the key product), and from light cycle oil to heavy cycle o i l . The FCC micro-activity test ( M A T ) has been commonly used to simulate the F C C commercial process at the laboratory scale. In this chapter, we discuss the analytical characterization work performed to explore the possibility of applying the F C C process (as represented by M A T ) to the atmospheric residue derived from thermally cracked shale oil. Shale oil rich in organic oxygen is a source of fuel oil and synthesis gas, but it could also be a source of a number of valuable chemicals such as antiseptic oil for wood impregnation, electrode coke, rubber softeners, casting binders, etc. Phenols found in such shale oils are used as feedstocks for epoxy and other resins, and as glue compounds, rubber modifiers, synthetic tanning agents, etc. The most valuable phenols are found in the 200-360°C boiling range. Therefore, there is interest in exploring the behavior of 360°C+ shale oil residue in the cracking environment, particularly in terms of the production of phenols in the useful boiling range. From the analytical point o f view, the main challenge o f this study was in the development of a characterization methodology to analyze mono- and dihydric phenols in the shale oil. The added difficulty was that M A T products are inherently produced in very small amounts (
