Energy Sources
Oil Shale
Fossil Fuel
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Oil shale is a fine grained sedimentary rock rich in kerogen, a solid organic material that has not yet been transformed by heat and pressure into petroleum the way it has in an ordinary oil reservoir. Heating the rock, either by mining and retorting it at the surface or by heating it underground, breaks the kerogen down into a liquid resembling crude oil along with combustible gas. This sets oil shale apart from the two other unconventional fossil resources it is often confused with: oil sands, whose bitumen has already formed and needs only to be separated from the sand that holds it, and shale gas, natural gas trapped in a different, gas bearing shale and freed by hydraulic fracturing rather than mined and heated. The Green River Formation in the western United States holds the world's largest known oil shale deposit, though extraction there has never reached a lasting commercial scale; smaller operations have run at various times in Estonia, Brazil, China, Germany and Russia.
Facts
Source Class First Commercial YearModern industrial mining of oil shale began at Autun in France in 1837, with operations at Scotland, Germany and elsewhere following over the nineteenth century, mainly to produce kerosene, lamp oil and paraffin before petroleum drilling made the process largely uneconomic; smaller-scale extraction has continued at various times since in Estonia, Brazil, China and Russia. Cross-Tradition Connections
Sources
1. Wikipedia
Wikimedia FoundationIntroductionQuote, Introduction
Oil shale is an organic-rich fine-grained sedimentary rock containing kerogen (a solid mixture of organic chemical compounds) from which liquid hydrocarbons can be produced.
1. Wikipedia
Wikimedia FoundationGeologyQuote, Geology
Oil shale differs from bitumen-impregnated rocks...such as oil sands and petroleum reservoir rocks...heat and pressure have not (yet) transformed the kerogen in oil shale into petroleum.
1. Wikipedia
Wikimedia FoundationHistoryQuote, History
Modern industrial mining of oil shale began in 1837 in Autun, France, followed by exploitation in Scotland, Germany, and several other countries.
United States Energy Information Administration Official Site
US Energy Information AdministrationEIA glossary, Oil shaleQuote, EIA glossary, Oil shale
A sedimentary rock containing kerogen, a solid organic material.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between oil shale and oil sands?
Oil shale holds kerogen that must be heated to form an oil-like liquid; oil sands already hold bitumen that only needs to be separated and upgraded.
The two are often confused, but they are genuinely different rocks yielding fuel in different ways. Oil shale is a fine-grained sedimentary rock rich in kerogen, a solid organic material that has not yet been transformed by heat and pressure into petroleum the way it has in an ordinary oil reservoir; heating the rock, either by mining and retorting it at the surface or by heating it underground, breaks the kerogen down into a liquid resembling crude oil. Oil sands, by contrast, contain bitumen, a heavy oil that has already formed and needs only to be separated from the sand and clay holding it, typically by open-pit mining or by injecting steam so it flows to a well. In short, oil shale still has to be chemically transformed to yield oil, while oil sands already hold oil that only has to be extracted and upgraded.
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