Oil shale is more than an energy source. It is also a source for various valuable materials. These materials include pyridine, carbonate minerals, alumina, ammonium sulfate, phosphate, sulfur, uranium, vanadium, and zinc, to name a few, from which numerous value-added products can be manufactured. For example, catalysts are made from vanadium and zinc, while alumina is a widely used material fo...

In this work, we address the functional-unit based life cycle optimisation of the design and operations of shale gas supply chain networks considering both the economic and environmental performance. The system covers the well-to-wire life cycle of electricity generated from shale gas, consisting of a number of stages including freshwater acquisition, shale well drilling, fracking, and completi...

Abstract: In order to find the dynamic characteristics of shale gas reservoirs and improve shale gas well production, it is very important to research on shale gas seepage mechanism and production evaluation. Based on the shale gas seepage mechanism, adsorption and desorption characteristics, the diffusion mechanism and mass conservation theory in shale gas development, the dual pore medium sha...

Shale has been considered as good gas reservoir due to its abundant interior nanoscale pores. Thus, the study of the pore structure of shale is of great significance for the evaluation and development of shale oil and gas. To date, the most widely used approaches for studying the shale pore structure include image analysis, radiation and fluid invasion methods. The detailed pore structures can ...

The organopores play an important role in determining total volume of hydrocarbons in shale gas reservoir. The Lower Silurian Longmaxi Shale in southeast Chongqing was selected as a case to confirm the contribution of organopores (microscale and nanoscale pores within organic matters in shale) formed by hydrocarbon generation to total volume of hydrocarbons in shale gas reservoir. Using the mat...

The continuous development of global economy with decreasing in available hydrocarbon sources and increasing discovery and extraction costs due to decrease in-situ oil and gas reservoir, displays the necessity of using new techniques for the improve rate of penetration and productivity in well. Nanotechnology has already contributed significantly to technological advances in the energy industri...

The association of coal and oil shale had been a hot topic for a long time. Various types of association of coal and oil shale can be found in one basin, for instance, the coal can act as the roof or floor or interlayer of the oil shale, etc. The most crucial factor for the formation of oil shale is stratification and seasonal blooming of lower plankton, while the final formation of the coal st...

A characterization study was performed on the spent oil shale (oil shale ash) obtained from the combustion of Jordanian oil shale. This characterization utilized different analytical techniques. These include scanning electron microscope with energy dispersive spectrum analysis, X-ray fluorescence, X-ray diffraction and Qemscan. During the combustion process, minimal fragmentation was encounter...

Shale-gas production using hydraulic fracturing of mostly horizontal wells has led to considerable controversy over water-resource and environmental impacts. The study objective was to quantify net water use for shale-gas production using data from Texas, which is the dominant producer of shale gas in the U.S. with a focus on three major plays: the Barnett Shale (~15,000 wells, mid-2011), Texas...

The two methods of processing synthetic crude from organic marlstone in demonstration or small-scale commercial status in the U.S. are in situ extraction and surface retorting. The considerable uncertainty surrounding the technological characterization, resource characterization, and choice of the system boundary for oil shale operations indicate that oil shale is only a minor net energy produc...