He calls for dropping oil shale, arguing that estonian can get all its energy from bio mass and. Estonian oil shale industry in 2017 as of 2017, eesti energias jobs figures are calculated based on new principles, and the figure also includes the companys central services and enefit solutions. The ordovician kukersite deposits of estonia have been known since the 1700s. A study on the eu oil shale industry viewed in the light of. Successful upgrading of estonian shale oil via hydrotreating. Oil shale can be burned as any other fossil fuel or it can be heated without oxygen to extract shale oil. There are two oil shale types in estoniadictyonema argillite claystone and kukersite. The majority of mined oil shale is utilized as solid fuel in thermal power plants for electricity and heat production and about one fifth of oil shale is used for retorting shale.
Possibilities of oil shale mining under the selisoo mire. The kerogen within oil shale is also of different organic composition than coal, which enjoys a more matured organic makeup that is lower in hydrogen and higher in oxygen than oil shale kerogen. Following combustion of enriched oil shale, ash remains which also has to be deposited. The resultant shale oil is used as fuel oil or upgraded to meet refinery feedstock specifications by adding hydrogen and removing sulfur and nitrogen impurities shale oil extraction is usually. Oil shale waste and waste heaps may be considered a rather innocent production residue. Petersburg fields russia, and lower ordovician dictyonema shale. Like conventional oil, shale oil is a complex mixture of hydrocarbons, and it is characterized using bulk properties of the oil. Oil shale is a sedimentary rock containing solid and combustible organic matter kerogen. World oil shales vary widely in their content and composition of organic compounds kerogen. Oil shale can also be burnt directly in furnaces as a lowgrade fuel for power generation and district heating or used as a raw material in chemical and constructionmaterials processing. Guoquan, shi, 1988, shale oil industry in maoming, in proceedings international conference on oil shale and shale oil. Oil shale is an organicrich finegrained sedimentary rock containing kerogen a solid mixture of organic chemical compounds from which liquid hydrocarbons can be produced, called shale oil not to be confused with tight oilcrude oil occurring naturally in shales. Unesco eolss sample chapters coal, oil shale, natural bitumen, heavy oil and peat vol.
Environmental problems in the estonian oil shale industry energy. The estonian oil shale processing company vkg announced the dismissal of 500 employees on friday, saying that the measure was the result of the low oil prices. Thermal behavior of some estonian clays and their mixtures. There is currently no comprehensive overview of oil shale resources and their distribution around the world.
On 16 march 1943, hermann goring issued a secret order stating that development and utilisation of estonian oil shale industry is the most important militaryeconomic task in the territories of the former baltic states. These are in agreement with commonly reported values for such shales such as those given by miknis et al. Oil shales of different deposits differ by, for example, genesis, composition, calorific value and oil yield. Composition, geochemistry and conversion of oil shales nato science series c. Composition, geochemistry and conversion of oil shales c. Life cycle analysis of the estonian oil shale industry energiatalgud. Oil shale mining can disturb the landscape and hydrological regime. There is a traditional narrative in estonia on how oil shale was first mentioned by a. The resulting oil can be used immediately as a fuel or upgraded to meet refinery feedstock specifications by adding hydrogen and removing impurities such as sulfur. The main estonian oil shale type is kukersite, which is the sedimentary. Utilization of estonian oil shale semicoke sciencedirect. Jan 19, 2016 the estonian oil shale processing company vkg announced the dismissal of 500 employees on friday, saying that the measure was the result of the low oil prices.
The largest estonian producer of electricity and heat energy is the narva power plants, owned by eesti energia, which provide over 90% of the electricity produced in estonia. Update with compositional model results production 1. Outcrop of ordovician kukersite oil shale, northern estonia. Oil processing design specifications oil composition 1. In estonia technologies for oil shale mining and consuming have been continuously developed for more than 80 years. Pdf on mar 2, 2007, aaloe a and others published kukersite oil shale find, read and cite all the research you need. Oil shale causes 80 percent of estonias pollution checks. Composition and properties of oil shale ash concrete. Risk assessment methods in estonian oil shale mining industry. Jun 05, 2015 the us has 80 per cent of the worlds oil shale. Geopolymerization of the estonian oil shale solid heat.
Oil shale ash is formed from solid fuel mineral matter in the amount which depends on the combustion temperature and other conditions. A new story from estonian public broadcasting sheds more light on the devastating environmental impact oil shale has on the small, european nation. The export of oil shale products has doubled in the last five years. Brief history of oil shale mining and consumption in estonia. Composition, geochemistry and conversion of oil shales. Guo encyclopedia of life support systems eolss the chemistry of shale oil and its refining s. Mineral composition of estonian oil shale semicoke sediments. Oil shale has a low boilingpoint and it produces liquid organic products oils on thermal decomposition.
Estonian oil shale is characterized by its high content of carbonate minerals 1. With this step the state would make it possible for the. The oil shale industry in estonia employs 7,500 peopleabout one percent of the national work forceand accounts for four percent of its gross domestic product. Glenn vawter, aamerican shale oil, llc bnational oil shale association abstract1 from many recent press accounts, a reader would be led to believe that all of the impacts from past oil shale development were negative. Could estonias oil shale bolster europes energy security.
Estonian oil shale, oil can be released only by heating, yet hupels writing. Oil shale geology is a branch of geologic sciences which studies the formation and composition. The marinetype estonian dictyonema argillite also known as dictyonema oil shale, dictyonema shale or alum shale of an early ordovician age is a brown lithified claystone belonging to the formation of black shales of sapropelic origin. Estonia sees a bright future for oil shale financial times. Sustainability assessment of estonian oil shale mining 365 methods being employed at the early stages of the process. After that it began to spread to other scientific and popular science works. If more information becomes available, use of quantitative analysis will be necessary.
Prikk department of thermal engineering, tallinn university of technology, estonia abstract over 90% of the estonian basic power supply is covered by oil shalefired thermal power plants. For this reason, the model of estonian oil shale utilization, in spite of the power of analogy, is not likely to be directly applicable to all eu shales. This process converts kerogen in oil shale into shale oil by pyrolysis, hydrogenation, or thermal dissolution. In order to collect data for his book, hupel established a network of. As activity has boomed and job growth continues to increase, training in this area for new and experienced engineers is essential. Oil shales are classified as composites which are tightly bound organics and inorganics. Oil shale is sedimentary rock containing mainly mineral components and organic matter called kerogen, which has a low solubility in organic solvents. Besides the release of free oxides in the combustion process, the. Its characterization and possible use in remediation.
The story of oil shale discovery in estonia 101 simple the expedition did not cover the modern area of estonia. Estonian oil shale, pulverised firing, circulating fluidised bed combustion, emissions, land filling. Large deposits of oil shale exist in canada, the united states, and venezuela. The yearbook of the estonian oil shale industry was issued by. Shale oil extraction is an industrial process for unconventional oil production. Characterization of chinese, american and estonian oil shale. These processes convert the organic matter within the rock into synthetic oil and gas.
Oil shale industry in estonia 80% of oil shale used globally is extracted in estonia, mainly due to the oil shale fired narva power plants. Guo university of petroleum, beijing, china keywords. Reinsalu department of mining, tallinn university of technology 5 ehitajate rd. The federal government has a poor understanding of the economic and socioeconomic impacts of commercial oil shale development. Oil shale industry in estonia 80% of oil shale used globally is extracted in estonia, mainly due to the oilshalefired narva power plants. The total amount of osa formed is about 50% of the fuel mass. By march 2006 one billion tonnes of oil shale had been produced in estonia. Though the process lost ground in the mid20th century, following the discovery of crude oil, shale oil extraction has regained attention as a potential substitute for crude oil since 2003. The inorganic part of estonian kukersite oil shale consists of carbonates and. Oil shale deposits exist in 37 countries globally, but the largest and highest quality oil shale deposits are in sparsely populated areas of colorado, utah and wyoming figure 1. A study on the eu oil shale industry viewed in the light. Guldenstadt stated in his books that oil shale was discovered.
Every year about 11 million tons of oil shale ash content. In addition, for the first time, production of shale oil topped one million tonnes in 2017. Mathematical and physical sciences, volume 455 colin snape on. Estonian oil shale properties and utilization in power.
As of 2009, shale oil extraction is being undertaken in estonia, brazil, and china. Oil shale oil shale is a negrained sedimentary rock containing a solid material kerogen that converts to liquid oil when heated. The business daily aripaev proposes coupling the raw materials tax the oil shale sector pays to oil prices in a bid to help the flailing industry. Most of the estonian oil shale and some in other countries was burned to make electricity. Oil shale research in the united states 2011 draft2. Since the 1960s, estonia has been the largest oil shale producer and consumer in the world. However, active exploration only began as a result of fuel shortages brought on by world war i. Mineralogy of the oil shale ash deposits at eesti thermal power. Mart raud 18781952, the famous estonian oil shale scientist and engineer. Nearly half of the oil shale dry mass is left after combustion or shaleoil extraction as a solid residue. The growth of the oil industry saw the demise of the oil shale industry in most countries with the notable exception of estonia, where. In 2017, a total of eur 100 million of light oils, fine chemical products, bitumen, coke, phenol resins and other products derived from oil shale were exported.
In thermal processing of oil shale in vertical retorts huge quantities of a solid waste semicoke are formed. Oilshale production in that year was 17,000 tons by. The properties of raw shale oil vary depending on the composition of the parent oil shale and the extraction technology used. The hits just keep coming against estonian oil shale. Oil shales of different deposits in the eu differ in the composition and properties of organic and mineral parts.
The most toxic waste semicoke comes from the oil shale chemical industry. Oil shale research in the united states 5 september 2011 third edition foreword significant research efforts continue in the united states to address some of the technical, economic, and policy uncertainties that constrain the development of americas enormous oil shale resource. Oil shale os is a sedimentary rock containing organic matter rich in hydrogen, known as kerogen. Shale oils chemical agents and related occupations. In 1943, after the german troops retreated from the caspian oil region, estonian oil shale became increasingly important. The oil shale industry in estonia is one of the most developed in the world. Shale oil, properties of shale oil, composition of shale oil, hydrocarbon.
Estonias oil shale deposits account for just 17% of total deposits in the european union but the country generates 90% of its power from this source. Furthermore, there are no references to a connection between estonia and guldenstadt in his complete. Tbp curve of a sample light sweet crude oil is being used currently. It is hard to understand why winkler, who was a recognized specialist of oil shale chemistry and an author of several books on oil shale. Oil shale geology is a branch of geologic sciences which studies the formation and composition of oil shalesfinegrained sedimentary rocks containing significant amounts of kerogen, and belonging to the group of sapropel fuels. Amman, natural resources authority, hashemite kingdom of jordan, 98 p. Hamarneh, yousef, 1998, oil shale resources development in jordan. The estonian state cares about the oil shale industry andreas laane chairman of the management board alexela group to mark the centennial of oil shale mining, we have delved into the history, looked back at the develop. The conditions at hydro wet, dry, or semidry ash removal are analysed. Shale oil is an unconventional oil produced from oil shale rock fragments by pyrolysis, hydrogenation, or thermal dissolution. In addition, there is no reference to estonia or oil shale in the other works by guldenstadt 24, 25 edited by pallas either. This paper describes the problems relating to the chemicalmineralogical composition of oil shale ash. Oil shale production in that year was 17,000 tons by openpit mining, and by 1940, the annual. The oil shale industry, which produces the bulk of estonias energy, is responsible for about 80 percent of the pollution and carbon emissions.
Roomandpillar technology gives an extraction factor of 7080 %. Mineralogy of the oilshale ash deposits at eesti thermal power. The paper presents results of the study on oil shale mining estonia underground mine possibilities under the selisoo mire. Because world oil reserves, particularly of light crude, are being depleted and cannot produce petroleum at a rate fast enough to keep up with demand, mining of oil shale is becoming increasingly profitable and common. Waste management in estonian oil shale industry 3 the crosssectional area of the pillars is 3045 m2, depending on the depth of the oil shale bed. Estonian oil shale power plants ash handling problems h. In 2012, the countrys oil shale industry employed 6,500 people about 1% of the national workforce. After drying, crushing, screening and additional drying in cool air, the composition and properties of the os and two semicoke samples particle size books that oil shale was discovered. The story of oil shale discovery in estonia 99 century. Environmental problems in the estonian oil shale industry. Theory, technologies, and challenges provides users with information on how shale oil and gas exploration has revolutionized todays energy industry. Oil shale variery kukersite from estonia is very rich in fossils bryozoans, trilobites, brachiopods.
Characterization of chinese, american and estonian oil. The estonian oil shale had the highest value of 77 gpt, whereas the three colorado oil shale samples had estimated fischer assays of 21, 27 and 51 gpt and those compared well to values provided by the oil shale supplier see table 1. Oxygen influence on estonian kukersite oil shale devolatilization and char combustion. Earth sciences combustion observations oil shales chemical properties oil shales. Crude shale oil is the product of thermal processing of raw oil shale. Mining under selisoo will go at depths 6570 m under the surface. Shale oil usually contains large quantities of olefinic and aromatic hydrocarbons. Estonian oil shale compiled by mihkel koel in 1999 1. It has been shown that circulating fluidized bed combustion of semicoke could be a promising technology allowing utilization of its high residual energy potential. Coal, oil shale, natural bitumen, heavy oil and peat vol. Like coal, the worlds reserves of oil shales are vast being many times larger than those.
Estonian oil shale power plants ash handling problems. Oil shale in estonia is an important resource for the national economy. Part of the nato science series book series asdt, volume 28. The selisoo area is 2,051 ha in extent, and most of the mire is in natural state.
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