Parametric Investigation of Extraction of EI-Lajjun Oil Shale

摘要

Bitumen fraction of the oil shale contains high percentage of sulphur and could be a source of pollution. Extraction of this fraction is important for sulphur retention. Extraction of El-Lajjun oil-shale in a continuous stirred tank reactor extractor was carried out using seventeen different solvents. Toluene and chloroform were found the best solvents for extraction based on the quality and quantity of yield and solvent recovered. Solvents were recovered using two stages of distillations. It was found that an optimum shale size of 1.0 mm, optimum ratio of solvent to oil shale of 2:1 and optimum time of four hours for complete extraction offered better yield and solvent recovery. Stirring was found to increase the yield by 12% compared to that of no stirring extraction. When toluene was used the average amount of bitumen extracted was 0.032 g/g of oil shale and 85.8% of solvent recovered. When chloroform was used the average amount of bitumen extracted was 0.039 g/g of oil shale and 76.4% of solvent recovered.