AUTOCLAVE PYROLYSIS EXPERIMENTS OF CHINESE LIUSHUHE OIL SHALE TO SIMULATE IN-SITU UNDERGROUND THERMAL CONVERSION

Laboratory level autoclave pyrolysis experiments of Chinese Liushuhe oil shale have been conducted at different heating temperatures and pressures to simulate underground in-situ thermal conversion. Effects of water and metallic ions on oil shale pyrolysis have been investigated. In the presence of water, pyrolysis of oil shale generates thermal bitumen as an intermediate product at first, then pyrolysis of bitumen produces shale oil and gas takes place. With increasing temperature, the yields of shale oil and gas increase gradually, while the yield of bitumen initially increases (max. at 300°C) and then decreases. Compared with the modified Fisher Assay, autoclave pyrolysis temperature of simulated experiment was 100°C lower when reaching the same conversion level of oil shale. Analysis of the gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) showed that main chemical compounds of the light fraction in shale oil are phenols and benzenes. The analyses of gas chromatography showed high percentage of carbon dioxide and low percentage of hydrocarbons. The research results could provide theoretical information for underground in-situ thermal conversion of oil shale. Keywords: autoclave pyrolysis, oil shale, bitumen, intermediate product, shale oil, Fischer Assay, GC-MS.