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001127 Dr aft - 9/81 producing 50,000 bbl/day of synthetic crude oil which uses as a \ feedstock shale that contains 40 gallons of oil per ton of shale will consume less water than a similarly designed 50,000 bbl/day plant which uses as a feedstock shale that contains 25 galions of oll per ton. In other words, the water consumption of a surface retorting plant with a given product output will vary according to the kerogen content of the feed shale. A load factor of 90 percent is assumed for plants using sur- face retorts, while a load factor of 100 percent is assumed for plants utilizing in-situ and modified in-situ processes. (A load factor is defined as the percentage of time that a plant is on- stream during the course of a year. When on-stream, the plant is assumed to be operating at full capacity.) Thus, annual produc- tion by a unit-sized surface retorting plant would be 16.425 mil- , lion barreis per year (50,000 bbl/day x 365 days/yr x .9), while ~ unit-sized in-situ and modified in-situ facilities would yield 18.25 million bbl/yr (50,000 bbl/day x 365 days/yr). Surface Oil Shale Processing Preparation. Water may be applied directly to the shale, as in mining and crushing, or it may be applied to roads and other work areas. Union Oil plans to crush the shale in the mIne and control dust by air filtratIon rather than by wetting (Eyring Research Institute and Sutron Corporation, 1975, p. IV-5). If viewed strictly from the economics of water conservation, this may not be necessary; most of the literature reviewed is in gen- eral agreement that the water consumed during the preparation of the shale will be no more than 10 percent of the requirement for the entire operation. 2