Document Type : Research Paper
Authors
1
Petroleum Department, Kish International campus, University of Tehran, Iran
2
Institute of Petroleum Engineering (IPE), Petroleum Engineering Dept. School of Chemical Engineering, Univeristy of Tehran
3
Research Institute of Petroleum Industry (RIPI), Upstream Section, Tehran, Iran
10.22078/jpst.2024.5375.1928
Abstract
The quality and extraction rate of oil shale is a major challenge in the oil shale processing field. In this article, the effects of heating rate and grain size as fundamental parameters in oil shale production from the QaliKuh reservoir in Iran on the quantity and quality of produced oil shale are explored. Fisher's developed microwaves at 2450 kHz were used to heat several oil shale samples at power levels of 650, 900, and 1200 watts up to coking temperature (700 °C). It was observed that the amount of oil produced decreased as the microwave heating rate increased, however, the quality of the oil (asphaltene and sulfur content, aliphatic to aromatic ratio, carbon percentage, length of carbon chain) improved. In contrast, conventional oil shale pyrolysis showed that the quality of the oil improved with an increase in the heating rate, while the amount of produced oil diminished. Results showed that oil production increased with the grain size of the oil shale sample. The grain size of the shale was divided into three ranges: 7-12 mm, 7-4 mm, and less than 4 mm. In the case of microwave heating, the amount of produced oil increased with the reduction of grain size, but the quality fluctuated. With the conventional heating techniques, the quality of the produced oil can also fluctuate. It was found that microwave pyrolysis yielded more oil than the conventional method and improved the quality of the oil. Ultimately, based on the results, an optimal particle size and heating rate.
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