Technical and ecological aspects of shale oil and power cogeneration

Abstract

The most substantial feature of shale oil and power cogeneration is the technology that uses the high-temperature solid phase from the ash separator of a circulating fluidised-bed (CFB) boiler as the heat carrier in the rotating drum reactor in oil shale retorting equipment rather than high-temperature ash from a single-purpose built-in semi-coke burning furnace. Retort pro- ducts generated in the rotating drum reactor are separated from semi-coke in the separator and canalised into the condensing and cleaning equipment. Semi-coke is transported into the CFB furnace. All co-products generated in this technological process, such as phenol water, drying agent containing oil shale particles etc., are defused in the furnace of the CFB boiler. The application of such technology makes it possible to minimise the dangerous waste of shale oil production and guarantee the maximum use of oil shale energy. © 2011 Estonian Academy Publishers.