OXIDATIVE DENITRIFICATION OF SHALE OIL

OIL SHALE HAS LONG BEEN RECOGNIZED AS A MAJOR, WORLD-SCALE HYDROCARBON RESERVE. THE U.S. HAS ENORMOUS DEPOSITS OF HIGHGRADE SHALE. ALTHOUGH SUBSTANTIAL PROGRESS HAS BEEN MADE IN RETORTING TECHNOLOGY, SHALE OIL PROCESSING IS COSTLY OWING TO HIGH LEVELS OF NITROGEN AS WELL AS ARSENIC, IRON, AND (SOMETIMES) SUSPENDABLE SOLIDS. THE TECHNICAL FEASIBILITY OF USING OXIDATIVE DENITRIFICATION WILL BE EVALUATED FOR UPGRADING SHALE OIL TO ABOUT 1000 PPM, WHICH IS SUITABLE FOR USE AS A SYN CRUDE IN EXISTING REFINERIES. CONTROLLED OXIDATION CONDITIONS DIRECTED AT ACTIVATING NITROGEN HETEROATOMS WITH MINIMAL FORMATION OF RESIDUE WILL BE EMPLOYED, COUPLED WITH SELECTIVE EXTRACTION SOLVENTSFOR REMOVING ACTIVATED HETEROATOMS. SPECIALTY AND BULK USES OF THE BYPRODUCTS WILL BE IDENTIFIED, PERMITTING LARGE SCALE ADOPTION OF OXIDATIVE DENITRIFICATION TO SHALE OIL UPGRADING. COST ESTIMATES WILL BE DEVELOPED. IF SUCCESSFUL, THE TECHNOLOGY WILL PROVIDE A NITROGEN REJECTIONALTERNATIVE TO HYDROTREATING, ANALOGOUS TO THE CARBON REJECTION ALTERNATIVE (COKING) IN HEAVY CRUDE UPGRADING. HYDROGEN CONSUMPTION THUS SHOULD BE SIMILARLY MINIMIZED IN UPGRADING/REFINING RAW SHALE OILS.