New Patent: Oil Shale to High-Value Products

On December 8, 2020, Ron Stites, of Stites & Associates, LLC (SALLC), was awarded a patent on a process to convert oil shale into high-value products. US Patent 10,858,592 discloses a unique method for retorting oil shale that vaporizes the oil and feeds it directly into a distillation column that can split the oil into various cuts. These cuts can be used as feedstock for producing multiple, high-value products.

This unique approach completely avoids burning the valuable kerogen oil as a fuel. Unlike many other approaches, this method does not consume additional energy making the oil into a fuel, only to burn it and put even more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Instead, the oil is separated into cuts that can be used as the starting materials to make high quality asphalt, synthetic lubricating oils, adhesives, chemicals, and other high-value products. This process provides a unique, low carbon footprint method for turning oil shale into high-value products rather than low-value, commodity fuels.

The multiple benefits of this new process include:

1. Dramatic reduction in the CO₂ footprint of an oil shale industry by creating chemicals and building materials rather than fuels,
2. A closed system allowing capture of all environmentally troublesome compounds,
3. Creating products of higher value than crude oil,
4. Allows small plants and mines to be economically viable rather than huge strip-mining operations,
5. Eliminates the need for huge amounts of water to make the hydrogen needed to turn the kerogen oil into a precursor for fuels and
6. Allows small plants to be sited on only the best, most available oil shale resources.

The process has been studied and proven at large, bench scale at a temporary research facility in Vernal, Utah, using Utah oil shale. The studies were supported by a USTAR TAP grant awarded by the State of Utah. Development and commercialization of this process is still underway at both SALLC and a related Utah company, Kerogenic Products, LLC.

Your view the entire patent by clicking here: US Patent 10,858,592

For more information on this process and on-going efforts feel free to contact Mr. Stites at [email protected].

 

Ron Stites is the Founder and Principal at Stites & Associates, LLC, a group of technical professionals who work with clients to improve decision making in technology driven companies by applying good management judgment based on objective evidence and sound scientific thinking. For more information see: www.tek-dev.net or email us at [email protected] .