The Lurgi–Ruhrgas process is an above-ground
coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as stratum, rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other Chemical element, elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen ...
liquefaction and
shale oil extraction technology. It is classified as a hot recycled solids technology.
History
The Lurgi–Ruhrgas process was originally invented in the 1940s and further developed in the 1950s for a low-temperature liquefaction of
lignite (brown coal).
[ The technology is named after its developers Lurgi Gesellschaft für Wärmetechnik G.m.b.H. and ]Ruhrgas AG
Ruhrgas AG (original name: Aktiengesellschaft für Kohleverwertung; later: E.ON Ruhrgas) was the largest natural gas transportation and trading company based in Essen, Germany. The company was founded in 1926 and it finally ceased to exist on 2 May ...
. Over a time, the process was used for coal processing in Japan, Germany, the United Kingdom, Argentina, and former Yugoslavia. The plant in Japan processed also cracking petroleum oils to olefins
In organic chemistry, an alkene is a hydrocarbon containing a carbon–carbon double bond.
Alkene is often used as synonym of olefin, that is, any hydrocarbon containing one or more double bonds.H. Stephen Stoker (2015): General, Organic, an ...
.[
In 1947–1949, the Lurgi–Ruhrgas process was used in Germany for ]shale oil
Shale oil is an unconventional oil produced from oil shale rock fragments by pyrolysis, hydrogenation, or thermal dissolution. These processes convert the organic matter within the rock ( kerogen) into synthetic oil and gas. The resulting o ...
production. In Lukavac
Lukavac ( sr-cyrl, Лукавац) is a city located in Tuzla Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. According to the 2013 census, the town has a population of 12,061 inhabitants, with 44,520 inha ...
, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and ...
, two retorts for liquefaction of lignite were in operation from 1963 to 1968. The capacity of the plant was 850 tons of lignite per day. The plant in Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-west, Leicestershir ...
, the United Kingdom, operated in 1978–1979 with capacity of 900 tons of coal per day. In late 1960s and early 1970s oil shale
Oil shale is an organic-rich fine-grained sedimentary rock containing kerogen (a solid mixture of organic chemical compounds) from which liquid hydrocarbons can be produced. In addition to kerogen, general composition of oil shales constitu ...
s from different European countries and from the Green River Formation
The Green River Formation is an Eocene geologic formation that records the sedimentation in a group of intermountain lakes in three basins along the present-day Green River in Colorado, Wyoming, and Utah. The sediments are deposited in very fine ...
of Colorado
Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the wes ...
, the United States, were tested at the Lurgi's pilot plant in Frankfurt
Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , " Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its ...
.[
][
][
] In the United States, the technology was promoted in cooperation with Dravo Corporation Dravo Corporation was a shipbuilding company with shipyards in Pittsburgh and Wilmington, Delaware. It was founded by Frank and Ralph Dravo in Pittsburgh in 1891. The corporation went public in 1936 and in 1998 it was bought out by Carmeuse for $1 ...
. In the 1970s, the technology was licensed to the Rio Blanco Shale Oil Project for construction of a modular retort in combination with the modified ''in situ'' process.[ However, this plan was terminated.
In 1980, the Natural Resources Authority of Jordan commissioned from the Klöckner- Lurgi consortium a pre-feasibility study of construction of an oil shale retorting complex in ]Jordan
Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Ri ...
using the Lurgi–Ruhrgas process. However, although the study found the technology feasible, it was never implemented.[
]
Technology
The Lurgi–Ruhrgas process is a hot recycled solids technology, which processes fine particles of coal or oil shale sized . As a heat carrier, it uses spent char or spent oil shale (oil shale ash), mixed with sand or other more durable materials.[
][
] In this process, crushed coal or oil shale is fed into the top of the retort.[
] In retort, coal or oil shale is mixed with the heated char or spent oil shale particles in the mechanical mixer (screw conveyor
A screw conveyor or auger conveyor is a mechanism that uses a rotating helical screw blade, called a "''flighting''", usually within a tube, to move liquid or granular materials. They are used in many bulk handling industries. Screw conveyo ...
).[
] The heat is transferred from the heated char or spent oil shale to the coal or raw oil shale causing pyrolysis. As a result, oil shale decomposes to shale oil vapors, oil shale gas and spent oil shale.[ The oil vapor and product gases pass through a hot cyclone for cleaning before sending to a condenser. In the condenser, shale oil is separated from product gases.][
The spent oil shale, still including residual carbon ( char), is burnt at a lift pipe ]combustor
A combustor is a component or area of a gas turbine, ramjet, or scramjet engine where combustion takes place. It is also known as a burner, combustion chamber or flame holder. In a gas turbine engine, the ''combustor'' or combustion chamber is fed ...
to heat the process.[ If necessary, additional fuel oil is used for combustion.][ During the combustion process, heated solid particles in the pipe are moved to the surge bin by pre-heated air that is introduced from the bottom of the pipe. At the surge bin, solids and gases are separated, and solid particles are transferred to the mixer unit to conduct the pyrolysis of the raw oil shale.][
]
One of the disadvantages of this technology is the fact that produced shale oil vapors are mixed with shale ash causing impurities in shale oil. Ensuring the quality of produced shale oil is complicated as compared with other mineral dusts the shale ash is more difficult to collect.[
]
See also
* Galoter process
The Galoter process (also known as TSK, UTT, or SHC; its newest modifications are called Enefit and Petroter) is a shale oil extraction technology for a production of shale oil, a type of synthetic crude oil. In this process, the oil shale is ...
* Alberta Taciuk process
* Petrosix process
* Kiviter process
The Kiviter process is an above ground retorting technology for shale oil extraction.
History
The Kiviter process is based on the earlier vertical retort technology (Pintsch's generator). This technology underwent a long process of development ...
* TOSCO II process
The TOSCO II process is an above ground retorting technology for shale oil extraction, which uses fine particles of oil shale that are heated in a rotating kiln. The particularity of this process is that it use hot ceramic balls for the heat tr ...
* Fushun process
* Paraho process
The Paraho process is an above ground retorting technology for shale oil extraction. The name "Paraho" is delivered from the words "''para homem''", which means in Portuguese "for mankind".
History
The Paraho process was invented by John B. Jones ...
* KENTORT II
* Union process
The Union process was an above ground shale oil extraction technology for production of shale oil, a type of synthetic crude oil. The process used a vertical retort where heating causes decomposition of oil shale into shale oil, oil shale gas and S ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lurgi-Ruhrgas process
Oil shale technology
Coal
Thermal treatment