WSP08991

• File Number: 8040.260
• Description: Section D General Studies-Oil Shale/Coal
• State: CO
• Date: 7/1/1959
• Author: Cameron andJones Inc
• Title: Water Requirements for Oil Shale 1960-1975
• Water Supply Pro - Doc Type: Report/Study

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WATER REQUIREMENTS FOR SHALE OIL PRODUCTION

The production of the crude shale oil requires very
little water. Consumption of water for mining chiefly is
for drilling blast-holes and as a dust palliative. Retort-
ing uses only bearing-coolant water and a small amount of

steam for heating and cleaning purposes, Processes have
been developed which do not require water for cooling and
condensation of the oil. (Certain European processes con-
sume steam directly in the retort, but this type process is
not now under consideration for Colorado shale,) Personnel,

of course, require

drinking ~~01nitary water. Overall
for crude oil production, both mining

water requirements

and retorting, are less than 10 gallons per barrel of oil,

of which a small amount can be reused or returned to the

stream.

Shale oil refining requires relatively large quantities
of water both as a process coolant and for the generation of

steam. Since steam is consumed in the manufacture of hydro-

gen, where refining processes use hydrogen as a reagent,
this particular requirement is larger than in conventional
refineries. Steam also is used to drive pumps and compressors.
Cooling water requirements for refining are large even
when exchanging heat between hot outgoing and cool incoming
process streams. In the refining process some of the oil
fractions are heated to elevated temperatures several times

and the products must be condensed and/or cooled between
process steps as well as when refining has been completed.

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