Apparatus for shale oil retorting

摘要

A shale oil retorting system and novel continuous feed means for retorting oil shale within a retort housing employs a tilted circular conveyor within the housing which allows for continuous feeding of crushed oil shale within the conveyor for subsequent immersion in a hot process oil bath and unloading from the housing. The retort housing is constructed of side body members arranged to provide primary refluxing action of flammable process oil vapors evolved during retorting to prevent explosion. Safety is further augmented by providing an overhead vapor outlet and a sufficient level of process oil in the bath to produce a slight overpressure in the free board region conducive to quickly exhausting shale oil vapor from the housing into an overhead condensing unit. The spent shale particles discharged from the housing are immediately quenched to recover process oil coating the particles and minimize generation of flammable vapors from the hot particles. Ultrasound waves propagated through the liquid oil bath increase production of shale oil vapors.