Oil shale

Oil shale is a general term applied to a group of fine black to dark brown shales rich enough in bituminous material (called kerogen) to yield petroleum upon distillation. The kerogen in oil shale can be converted to oil through the chemical process of pyrolysis. During pyrolysis the oil shale is heated to 450-500° C in the absence of air and the kerogen is converted to oil and separated out, a process called "retorting". Oil shale has also been burnt directly as a low-grade fuel. The United States Office of Naval Petroleum and Oil Shale Reserves estimates the world supply of oil shale at 1662 billion barrels of which 1200 billion barrels are in the United States . This is comparable to the amount of reserves of conventional oil.

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Estonia, Russia, Brazil, and China currently mine oil shale, however production is declining due to economic and environmental factors.

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Shale: Shale is a fine-grained sedimentary rock whose original constituents were clays or muds. It is characterized by thin laminae breaking with an irregular curving fracture, often splintery, and parallel to the often indistinguishable bedding planes. Non-fissile rocks of similar composition but made of ...

Kerogen: Kerogens are chemical compounds that comprise the segment of organic matter in sedimentary rocks insoluble in the normal organic solvents because of its huge molecular weight (upwards of 1,000). The soluble portion is known as bitumen. Each kerogen molecule is unique because it is formed by the rand...

Petroleum: Petroleum (from Greek petra – rock and oleum – oil), crude oil, sometimes colloquially called black gold, is a thick, dark brown or greenish liquid. A widely believed myth is that the oil itself is flammable, however it is actually the gas that evaporates from the oil that is flammable. ...

Oil shale related Images and Photos (experimental)

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