Oil shale samples from the Ellajjun area south of Jordan were pyrolyzed in different conditions and environments. Sulfur of shale oil was determined using x-ray fluorescence (XRF). Generated products swept from the retort by several sweeping media; they include nitrogen, water vapor, hydrogen, and mixture of nitrogen and water vapor. Other conditions are 2–11 mm particle size, 1 atm operating pressure, and 410–550°C temperature range. The sulfur content of shale oil was found to be 12 wt % for hydrogen pyrolysis, while water vapor at 1 atm decreased this value to 7 wt %. Hydrogenation of oil shale resulted in 12 wt %. the sulfur content of shale oil being at 420°C, and then reduced to 10.3 wt % at temperatures higher than 470°C. When water vapor is added to nitrogen, the sulfur in the oil shale is increased by 4 wt %. Water vapor sweeping gas increased the sulfur of the shale oil from 6.5 wt % to 8.1 wt % compared with a nitrogen pyrolyzing medium. Retorted shale analysis showed 44 wt %, and 31 wt % is left in the retorted shale of the original 4.5 wt %. Sulfur found in the raw oil shale is unretorted for nitrogen and hydrogen sweeping gases. On the other hand, increasing particle size from 2 mm to 11 mm did not have any significant influence on the sulfur content of the produced shale oil.
Dynamic imaging of oil shale pyrolysis using synchrotron X-ray microtomography