Plant for extracting crude oil from oil shale

Abstract

An arrangement for extracting crude oil from oil shale comprising: a low temperature carbonization reactor; a processing means for feeding a slurry of oil shale, solvent and hydrogen into the low temperature carbonization reactor; a separating means for separating the resulting gaseous low temperature carbonization mixture from the used oil shale and for separating the low temperature carbonization mixture into gaseous and liquid low temperature carbonization products; a gas turbine the exhaust gas outlet of which is connected to two heat exchangers, one of which heat exchangers is disposed in a circulation system for a scavenging gas, which circulation system includes a separating reactor (which forms part of said separating means) in which in use the scavenging gas flows upwardly in counterflow to the oil shale for separation of the fluid low temperature carbonization mixture from the used oil shale, and the other of which heat exchangers is disposed between the low temperature carbonization reactor and said separating reactor; the low temperature carbonization reactor including a fluidizing cooler with a fluidized bed means for feeding used oil shale from the separating reactor to the fluidized bed and means for feeding turbine exhaust gas from either or both of said two heat exchangers to the fluidized bed for fluidizing the bed.