CHARACTERISTICS AND COMPREHENSIVE UTILIZATION POTENTIAL OF OIL SHALE OF THE YIN'E BASIN, INNER MONGOLIA, CHINA

摘要

The Yin'e Basin is an important oil shale-bearing deposit in the Bagemaode area of Inner Mongolia province, Northern China. Oil shale developed in the Bayingebi Formation of the Mesozoic Lower Cretaceous belongs to mudstone shales. In addition to rich organic matter, it also contains detrital minerals like quartz and feldspars, as well as clay minerals like kaolinite, andreattite and illite, with an average content of 45% (detrital minerals) and 37% (clay minerals). Analysis of mineral abundances in oil shale showed that the contents of SiO2 and Al2O3 were relatively high, the respective averages being 46.99% and 13.67%. The oil shale is rich in metal elements such as Sr, Cs, Zn, Rb, Pb and Co, as well as rare earth elements. The highest oil yield of the oil shale in the research area is up to 15.3%, with an average of 4.72%; its average ash content is 77.38% and average calorific value 3.82 MJ/Kg. Based on the above figures, the oil shale can be regarded as a rock with low-medium oil yield, high ash content and low calorific value. Resource evaluation showed that the proved reserves of Bagemaode oil shale are 3.976 billion tons, which are generally considered a rich resource and are characterized by a shallow burial depth. In view of the above different characteristics of oil shale and in consideration of environmental and economic factors, this paper proposes that a multiple-approach and multiple-combination comprehensive development and utilization of Bagemaode oil shale through retorting-power generation-production of metals, silica and building materials should be achieved.