Oil Shale Industry Research Articles

Public Opinions on Oil Shale Mining Heritage and its Tourism Potential

This paper examines the valuation of mining heritage and tourism potential for regional development in Ida-Viru County, NE Estonia. The study is based on data from six focus groups and a survey (n = 255) involving local residents and people from outside the county, Estonians and those of other ethnicities. Estonia is the only country in the world that uses oil shale for more than 90% of its electricity, and its industrial district is among the largest in the Baltic countries. Oil shale mining in Ida-Viru County began in 1916 and, over time, resulted in tremendous ecological, economic, social and cultural changes. A majority of these changes took place during the Soviet era, causing ambivalent attitudes towards oil shale mining heritage. Landscapes altered by oil shale mining, chemical works and energy production passed largely unnoticed until the twenty-first century: appreciation of uniqueness and public awareness come slowly. The findings of this study note that people recognise industrial heritage fairly well and have many ideas on how to use it on behalf of holistic regional development, yet there are shortages in information availability and understanding.

WHAT HINDERS AND WHAT FACILITATES GOOD LIVING IN THE OIL SHALE MINING REGION?

The aim of this paper is to examine the role of the public perception of oil shale mining and industrial heritage in regional revival. Oil shale mining and chemical operations have left an imprint on both the people and the landscape of Ida-Viru County, NE Estonia. Along with increasing or decreasing production volumes of oil shale mining, heritage has been over- looked, left to naturally deteriorate or to be destroyed or recultivated. Heritage-awareness revival projects for similar natural resource post- industrial situations have proved to be successful in culture, sports and recreational tourism. The current view on oil shale mining heritage is investigated through focus group interviews and a questionnaire. Unemploy- ment, language barriers and social problems are considered to be the most important issues, and the responsibility for solving these problems is primarily deemed to be the role of the national government. At the same time, in general, people are willing to participate in processes and regard coordinated planning as crucial to holistic development. Post-industrial areas should be utilized to support the development.

SOIL INVERTEBRATES IN SEMI-COKE HEAPS OF ESTONIAN OIL SHALE INDUSTRY

Semi-coke is classified as an environmentally harmful residue of oil shale industry due to its toxic components: several organic and inorganic compounds - oil products, asphaltenes, phenols, PAHs, sulphuric com- pounds. The aim of the present work was to compare the abundances and species compositions of soil invertebrate assemblages (Collembola, Lumbricidae, Araneae, Myriapoda, Coleoptera) in the artificial substrate from vegetated and bare residue sites of semi-coke heaps of Estonian oil shale industry. Invertebrate communities in semi-coke heaps were studied at three heights of each heap slope; all sampling points in the heaps were divided into four groups based on plant cover. The authors concluded that the communities of micro- and macroarthropods and earthworms in oil-shale processing waste heaps were formed under certain conditions - a high pH and extremely low moisture. The presence of several invertebrate groups (springtails, earthworms, epigeic predators, etc.) and soil communities can be used for monitoring the success in restoration.

Current and historical patterns of heavy metals pollution in Estonia as reflected in natural media of different ages: ICP Vegetation, ICP Forests and ICP Integrated Monitoring data

In order to characterise current and historical pattern of heavy metal (HM) pollution in Estonia, this article will compare the concentrations and stocks of Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb and Zn represented in current deposition (data from 18 local precipitation stations) with natural media of three different ages: 1–3-year-old moss carpet (ICP Vegetation moss survey data from 99 open area plots), 3–5-year-old litter layer, and several-decades-old organic layer (mor humus) of coniferous forest, in mostly podzolic soils (ICP Forest soil survey data, 75 stands).Objectives of this study are (1) to assess differences in HM retention and accumulation in various aged media of coniferous stands (2) to estimate territorial differences in current HM distribution and previously accumulated concentrations and stores of HM (3) to compare territorial distribution of HM concentration in Estonia between five different regions: N-W; N-E; S-W; S-E and Western insular region, whereas the local oil shale industry in N-E part of Estonia has been the main source of HM pollution over a long period of time and therefore may have an effect on HM regional distribution.Comparing the studied media, three types of HM retention patterns were detected: (1) for Cu, Ni, Cr (2) for Cd, Pb, (3) for Zn. The mean current level of HM deposition in Estonia is low comparison to previous decades, especially the 1980s. The effect of the previously significantly higher exposure of HM emissions and deposition is preserved in older part of soil organics (OF), where the highest stocks and concentrations of HMs (with the exception of Zn) are currently found. The HM proportions in fly ash of oil shale and in OF layer of soil were very similar with regards to Ni and Cr—indicating their origin from the oil shale industry in the N-E region. According to spatial distribution analysis, the greatest accumulated storages of Ni and Cr in OF layer of coniferous forest soils are characteristic to S-W Estonia.

Paleoenvironment of the Eocene coal seam in the Fushun Basin (NE China): Implications from petrography and organic geochemistry

The Fushun Basin in northeast China is a strike–slip basin filled with coal-bearing Eocene sediments. The basin fill includes from base to top volcaniclastic rocks, a 20 to 145m thick coal seam (Lower Eocene Guchengzi Formation) and lacustrine oil shale, up to 300m thick (Jijuntun Formation). The sub-bituminous coal of the Guchengzi Formation, famous for the amber inclusions, is exploited in the largest opencast coal and oil shale mine in Asia. In the present contribution the depositional environment and the thermal history of the Guchengzi Formation are investigated based on macro- and micropetrographic data, bulk geochemical parameters, biomarker analysis, stable isotope geochemistry, and vitrinite reflectance measurements. According to our interpretation, accumulation of the low-sulfur coal commenced in a low-lying mire near a shallow lake. Subsequently low-ash coal was deposited either in a low-lying mire protected from clastic influx or in a raised mire. Finally, high subsidence rates, typical for strike–slip basins, caused the flooding of the mire and terminated peat accumulation. Pristane/phytane ratios suggest a gradual change from oxic to less oxic conditions during the drowning phase of the seam. Organic-rich shales accumulated in the newly formed freshwater lake and resulted in the deposition of the overlying oil shale-bearing Jijuntun Formation. The coal is rich in liptinite macerals, especially sporinite. Gymnosperms dominated the paleovegetation of the mire, something that is also reflected by the frequent occurrence of resinite and amber and their biomarker composition. The coal reached the sub-bituminous or even the high volatile bituminous stage, despite the limited burial depth. Simple 1D models suggest that this is a result of high heat flow, rather than of deep burial and erosion. The hydrogen-rich coal is oil-prone.

Depositional environment of oil shale within the Eocene Jijuntun Formation in the Fushun Basin (NE China)

The non-marine Fushun Basin in NE China is a fault-controlled basin filled with Eocene sediments. It hosts the largest opencast coal and oil shale mine in Asia. A single thick oil shale layer overlying sub-bituminous coal occurs within the Middle Eocene Jijuntun Formation. Based on mineralogy, inorganic and organic geochemistry, organic petrography, stable isotope geochemistry, and vitrinite reflectance measurements, the depositional environment and the oil shale potential of the oil shale-bearing succession were investigated. The Jijuntun Formation is subdivided into a lower and an upper unit characterized by a low and high quality oil shale, respectively. The thick oil shale layer of the Jijuntun Formation developed under long-lasting stable conditions in a deep freshwater lake, after drowning of a swamp. The organic matter in the lower unit is characterized by landplant-derived macerals. The sediments containing a type II kerogen (HI: ∼400 mgHC/gTOC) were deposited during warm and humid conditions. Lacustrine organisms predominant in the upper unit are forming kerogen type I (HI: ∼700 mgHC/gTOC). High bioproductivity and excellent preservation conditions resulted in high TOC contents up to 23.6 wt.% in the upper unit. The organic matter preservation was controlled by photic zone anoxia originating in a temperature stratified water column in the deep lake, without significant changes in bottom water salinity. Mid-Eocene cooling during deposition of the upper unit of the Jijuntun Formation is reflected by clay mineral composition. A hot and arid climate favoring brackish conditions in a shallow lake prevailed during accumulation of the overlying carbonate-rich Xilutian Formation. Individual geochemical parameters in the Fushun Basin have to be used with caution, e.g. the maturity proxy Tmax is affected by kerogen type, the redox proxy Pr/Ph ratio is probably biased by different sources of isoprenoids. This demonstrates the importance of multi-proxy studies.

Real-time surrogate analysis for potential oil and gas contamination of drinking water resources

Public concerns related to the fast-growing shale oil and gas industry have increased during recent years. The major concern regarding shale gas production is the potential of fracturing fluids being injected into the well or produced fluids flowing out of the well to contaminate drinking water resources such as surface water and groundwater. Fracturing fluids contain high total dissolved solids (TDS); thus, changes in TDS concentrations in groundwater might indicate influences of fracturing fluids. An increase of methane concentrations in groundwater could also potentially be due to hydraulic fracturing activities. To understand the possible contamination of groundwater by fracturing activities, real-time groundwater monitoring is being implemented in the Denver-Julesburg basin of northeast Colorado. A strategy of monitoring of surrogate parameters was chosen instead of measuring potential contaminants directly, an approach that is not cost effective or operationally practical. Contaminant surrogates of TDS and dissolved methane were proposed in this study, and were tested for correlation and data distribution with laboratory experiments. Correlations between TDS and electrical conductivity (EC), and between methane contamination and oxidation–reduction potential (ORP) were strong at low concentrations of contaminants (1 mg/L TDS and 0.3 mg/L CH4). Dissolved oxygen (DO) was only an effective surrogate at higher methane concentrations (≥2.5 mg/L). The results indicated that EC and ORP are effective surrogates for detecting concentration changes of TDS and methane, respectively, and that a strategy of monitoring for easy to measure parameters can be effective detecting real-time, anomalous behavior relative to a predetermined baseline.

Shale-oil industry creating radioactive waste problem for North Dakota

Shale-oil industry creating radioactive waste problem for North Dakota

The enrichment behavior of natural radionuclides in pulverized oil shale-fired power plants

The oil shale industry is the largest producer of NORM (Naturally Occurring Radioactive Material) waste in Estonia. Approximately 11–12 million tons of oil shale containing various amounts of natural radionuclides is burned annually in the Narva oil shale-fired power plants, which accounts for approximately 90% of Estonian electricity production. The radionuclide behavior characteristics change during the fuel combustion process, which redistributes the radionuclides between different ash fractions. Out of 24 operational boilers in the power plants, four use circulating fluidized bed (CFB) technology and twenty use pulverized fuel (PF) technology. Over the past decade, the PF boilers have been renovated, with the main objective to increase the efficiency of the filter systems. Between 2009 and 2012, electrostatic precipitators (ESP) in four PF energy blocks were replaced with novel integrated desulphurization technology (NID) for the efficient removal of fly ash and SO2 from flue gases.Using gamma spectrometry, activity concentrations and enrichment factors for the 238U (238U, 226Ra, 210Pb) and 232Th (232Th, 228Ra) family radionuclides as well as 40K were measured and analyzed in different PF boiler ash fractions. The radionuclide activity concentrations in the ash samples increased from the furnace toward the back end of the flue gas duct. The highest values in different PF boiler ash fractions were in the last field of the ESP and in the NID ash, where radionuclide enrichment factors were up to 4.2 and 3.3, respectively.The acquired and analyzed data on radionuclide activity concentrations in different PF boiler ashes (operating with an ESP and a NID system) compared to CFB boiler ashes provides an indication that changes in the fuel (oil shale) composition and boiler working parameters, as well as technological enhancements in Estonian oil shale fired power plants, have had a combined effect on the distribution patterns of natural radionuclides in the oil shale combustion products.

Application Prospects in China of Oil Shale <i>In Situ</i> Mining Method and an Improved Method

Oil shale resources is a new energy has a huge potential for development, as the complement and alternative energy of the oil and gas, more and more people pay attention to it. China's oil shale resources are widely distributed and reserves are huge, but current mining methods are still primitive, mainly to direct exploitation, exploitation efficiency is low and ecological damage is serious, it will be replaced by in-situ mining methods in the future. This paper summarizes the research of oil shale in situ mining, aims at the problems of that the conduction of heat efficiency is low and the outlet channel is less which exist in the in-situ mining at the present, and put forward the concept of in-situ broken that is using some methods to make the oil shale change from huge to small block in the initial stage of the in-situmining, further in-situ heating, mining of oil shale，and put forward the method of in-situ noncontact wind breaking oil shale, this method using the crushing wind to break the oil shale, having high feasibility. This paper did in-depth research on the in-situ mining, and it can provide a reference for the development and utilization of oil shale resources.

Carbon fluxes in forested bog margins along a human impact gradient: could vegetation structure be used as an indicator of peat carbon emissions?

Bog ecosystems are sensitive to anthropogenic disturbance, including drainage and air pollution. Carbon (C) balance measurements to determine the effect of disturbance on bog functioning are laborious; therefore reliable proxies for C fluxes that could facilitate upscaling from single studies to a larger scale would be valuable. We measured peat CO2 emissions (R s), CH4 efflux and vegetation characteristics in four bog areas that formed a gradient from pristine to severely disturbed peatlands, affected by drainage, peat mining, alkaline air pollution and underground oil-shale mining. We expected that sites experiencing higher human impact (i.e., the vegetation was more distinct from that of a natural bog) would have higher R s and lower CH4 emissions, but differences in peat C emissions between the most disturbed and pristine sites were not significant. Growing period median R s ranged from 0.5 to 2.2 g C m−2 day−1 for our plots; methane emissions, measured from July to December were an order of magnitude lower, ranging from −5.9 to 126.7 mg C m−2 day−1. R s and CH4 emissions were primarily determined by water table depth, as was tree stand productivity. Therefore, stand structural parameters could potentially be good indicators of soil C emissions from poorly drained forested bogs.

Le rôle des exploitations minières de la région d’Autun dans la constitution des collections paléontologiques

The birth of the oil shale industry, in the Autun basin (Saône-et-Loire, department in Burgundy), at the beginning of the 1830s, corresponded to a time during which the scientific progress in geology and paleontology was quite fast-paced. The development of the schist industry happened at a time when landmark works were published such as those by Louis Agassiz or Adolphe Brongniart. These scientists relied upon the on-going findings in the Autunois area. An outstanding dynamics was on its way. It brought about the updating of many samples sparking off important paleontological studies. A remarkable coordination set up between the industrial workers of the schist industry, the local scholars on the one hand and the National Museum of Natural History in Paris on the other hand. There resulted from it a frequent if not constant interest in the discovery of the fossils that the layers of schists – exploited with the aim of obtaining oil used as a quaffing product – can contain. This dynamics kept going on till the beginning of the 19th century. It was carried out by outstanding personalities such as Bernard Renault or Auguste Roche who were at the origin of the first collections gathered by the Society of Natural History in Autun, founded in 1886. But then, the findings were made rare. The mechanization of the chopping down and crushing of the schist did not any more offer the suitable conditions to discover new specimens. Anyway, the accumulated collections are already considerable and make of the Autunois one of the major places of great French paleontological progress in the years 1870 and 1880.

Synthesis of a hydrotalcite-like compound from oil shale ash and its application in uranium removal

Oil shale ash (OSA) was utilized to synthesize a hydrotalcite-like compound (HTlc) via a facile acid-leaching and co-precipitation process. Chemical component, structural and morphological properties of HTlc were characterized by ICP-AES, FTIR, XRD, HRTEM, SEM, and XPS. The results showed that HTlc is Mg-Al based hydrotalcite with a lamellar morphology, incorporating other metal cations in its structure. Building on the synthetic HTlc, adsorption of uranium from aqueous solution was performed in a single component system with the variation of pH, adsorbent dosage, contact times, temperatures and initial concentrations of uranium. It is found that the adsorption process conforms to Langmuir isotherm model. Upon raising temperature from 298 to 318K, the maximum adsorption capacity increases from 156 to 200mg/g. The adsorption of uranium is revealed to follow the pseudo-second-order rate model by adsorption kinetics studies. Obtainable thermodynamic parameters showed that the uranium adsorption is endothermic and spontaneous in nature. Comparison with similar adsorbents demonstrates that HTlc is an effective and economic adsorbent to remove uranium from aqueous solution. And thus, the present work is expected to provide a new strategy for disposal of both wastewater of nuclear industry and waste product of oil shale industry.

Geological settings of the protected Selisoo mire (northeastern Estonia) threatened by oil shale mining

The protected Selisoo mire in northeastern Estonia is located above valuable oil shale resources, partly in the permitted mining area. We describe in detail the geomorphology and geological setting of the mire to understand the natural preconditions for its formation, development and preservation. We used the LiDAR-based digital elevation model for relief analysis, mapped the peat thickness with ground-penetrating radar and described the Quaternary cover through corings. Ridges, oriented perpendicular to the generally southward-sloping terrain, and shallow depressions at the surface of mineral soil have influenced mire formation and its spatio-temporal dynamics. The Quaternary cover under the mire is thin and highly variable. Therefore the mire is hydro- geologically insufficiently isolated from the limestone bedrock that is drained by the nearby oil shale mine and consequently the mining activities approaching the mire may have a negative influence on the wetland and proposed Natura 2000 site. Natura 2000 type wetlands, both protected or currently outside the nature reserves, cover a significant portion of the prospective oil shale mining areas. The distribution and resilience of those sites may significantly influence further utilization of oil shale resources.

APPLICATION OF FLAC3D FOR SIMULATION OF THE BOREHOLE HYDRAULIC MINING OF NONG’AN OIL SHALE

The analysis software, FLAC3D, was used for simulation of Nong'an oil shale mining according to the three-dimensional fast Lagrangian algorithm. A simulation study involving drilling hydraulic mining methods for different borehole spacings in the Nong'an oil shale mining area was conducted. The best mining scheme was selected in terms of safety factors and economic benefits, and used for the analysis of the vertical displacement and ground surface settlement of the oil shale area. Drill hole spacing was identified as a key factor for the coefficient of borehole hydraulic mining based on the general relationship between the coefficient and borehole spacing. The optimal mining hole spacing was 25 m, and the distribution regularities of the vertical displacement of the surrounding rock near the excavation and earth surface were observed. The results showed that FLAC3D can simulate and analyze the oil shale hydraulic mining process and is an effective and suitable method for oil shale exploitation research.

THE BIRTH OF THE ESTONIAN OIL SHALE INDUSTRY – LINKS TO RUSSIA AND SCOTLAND

Oil shale is considered the most important natural resource of Estonia and its role in energy production and chemical industry has been pointed out in numerous papers. But there are no special publications about the history of the Estonian oil shale industry in English. This article tries to fulfil the gap relying on numerous archival documents and literature sources which have remained out of the attention of scientists up till now. It follows from the article that without the studies carried out by Russian researchers in 1916-1920 the Estonian oil shale industry may not have been born. Using the results of Russian investigators, the Estonians hoped to set up their own oil shale industry applying Scottish experience. This hope failed, however, and thus the Estonians had to elaborate their own methods for the development of oil shale chemistry.

中国页岩气产业的发展现状及趋势

我国页岩气资源丰富、分布广泛，经过十几年的勘探开发，已经取得了实质性的进展，国内页岩气资源开发即将全面铺开。本文主要介绍了我国页岩气资源及其分布、页岩气勘探开发现状，在此基础上，指出了我国页岩气产业的发展趋势。 China’s shale gas resources are rich and widely distributed. After ten years of development, substantial progress has been made, and the development of shale gas industry in Chinawill be in full swing. This paper mainly introduces the distribution of the shale gas, the present development status of shale gas. On this basis, the development trend of shale oil and gas industry in China is pointed out.

SIMULATION AND ASSESSMENT OF SHALE OIL LEAKAGE DURING IN SITU OIL SHALE MINING

Whether there is a risk of shale oil leakage along the depleted wells or multi-level geological fractures during in situ oil shale mining was predicted using the geological data from the Songliao Basin and survey wells in Fuyu county of Jilin province, China. The simulation results obtained employing the Transport of Unsaturated Groundwater and Heat 2 (TOUGH2) software indicate that oil leakage along depleted wells would entail greater risks to the upper aquifer, while the leakage along multi-level geological fractures would involve higher risks to the lower aquifer close to the shale beds. The distributions of shale oil saturation under the original and 1.3-fold formation pressures are slightly different, and the pollution halo somewhat increased only in an aquifer 40-50 m underground. The shale oil saturation in the leaking channel may be 0 during the leaking process.

Determination of Hydrogeological Parameters of Aquifer Using the Air Compressor Pumping

When the buried depth of water level is very large, the air compressor is used in pumping test. In the limited conditions, the value of the water level was not measured, but the recovery value of water level could be measured. In this case, the sp value of the water level drawdown was not able to be measured accurately when the pumping test stopped. So the hydraulic conductivity of aquifer could only be determined according to the linear graphic method of the water level recovery test. However, water level recovery characteristics of each period were not the same, and the raising rate of water level were not equal. Thus, there was a deviation when the hydraulic conductivity was solved with the linear graphic method. According to the existing data, the thesis combined the water level recovery fitting of the entire curve fitting with Dupuit formula of artesian well, determining the sp value and hydrogeological parameters of aquifer. After comprehensive analysis, the parameters obtained are more reasonable, which can provide a good reference for in-situ mining of oil shale in this area.

Encouraging Unconventional Natural Gas Development Data Transparency with FracTracker.org

Unconventional natural gas development (UNGD) in shale formations, often referred to as ‘fracking,’ is a controversial subject for which the public needs accessible and reliable data in order to make well-informed decisions. Data that are collected are not always published online, hindering regulatory transparency and public access to critical information. Such was the case when the safety of UNGD became a point of contention in the United States. Until at least 2010, the locations of wells drilled, wells permitted, and violations in the U.S. were only accessible by conducting a file review through each state’s regulatory agency. By the time that regulatory bodies began to make online data available for public consumption, considerable uncertainty and concern had developed. This situation led to the launch of FracTracker.org. The FracTracker Alliance is a non-profit organization dedicated to enhancing the public’s understanding of the impacts of the global shale gas and oil industry by collecting, interpreting, and sharing data through FracTracker.org. This presentation will demonstrate the capabilities of the site’s geographic information system and discuss how FracTracker.org is currently being utilized. The information being transmitted provides awareness and information to protect public health, the environment, and socioeconomic well-being from the potential impacts of UNGD. Developing collaborations outside of the U.S. is of significant interest to the FracTracker Alliance. A similar system could be used to satisfy the emergent international demand for UNGD data and maps.