17. Experimental and Environmental Study of In-Situ Oil-Shale Retorting

Oil-shale retorting methods have become an issue as companies consider the economics of developing the vast deposits of oil shale in the western United States with at least one trillion barrels of in-place oil within the Green River Formation of the Colorado Piceance Basin alone. Although knowing the volume and organic richness of an oil shale is critical to resource assessments, knowing the amount and quality of oil that can be produced by various retorting methods and the environmental impact of producing that oilare equally important.  Surface mining and retorting of oil shale was an economically viable industry in Scotland from 1860 to 1960 and is currently operational in Estonia and Brazil. An open-system laboratory pyrolysis method referred to as Fisher Assay provides information on quantity of products a given oil shale is likely to produce by surface retorting.  However, there have been several proposals and field studies implementing in situ retorting rather than surface retorting.   In situ retorting involves the heating of dewatered subsurface rocks under various conditions (anhydrous, steam injection, supercritical CO2) and the collection of their condensable volatile products.  Reports suggest thathigher quality products but lower yields will be obtainedfrom these in situ methods when compared to surface retorting, but no data or documentation has been presented in peer-reviewed scientific or engineering journals. How the quantity and quality of in situ products relate to Fisher Assays remains unknown and without this information no assessment of recoverable oil using in situ methodscan be made.  In addition, there is no data or documentation on the effects the subsurface spent shale will have on ground waters that reenter the in situ site after retorting. 

The postdoctoralresearcher will evaluate the major industry proposals for in situ retorting with the advisors to determine which methods have the most promise for implementation.  Experiments will need to be designed to simulate these methods in the laboratory by configuring high-temperature and high-pressure reactors and fittings with the appropriate heating systems and product collection procedures.  The main products from these retorting experiments include gases, oils, and spent rock.  The researcher will work with other USGS scientists to chemically and physically characterize these products with respect to their quantities and quality.  The researcher will also design and conduct leaching experiments that best simulate the reentry of ground waters into sites after in situ retorting to determine the potential of releasing components of environmental concern.   The need for the Mendenhall Fellow to be mechanically inclined as well as having a working knowledge of chemical principles makes this Opportunity open to chemical and petroleum engineers, as well as experimental geochemists.

Proposed Duty Station: Denver, CO

Areas of Ph.D.:Geology, geochemistry, environmental science, petroleum engineering, and chemical engineering

Qualifications: Applicants must meet one of the following qualifications: Research Geologist, Research Chemist, Research Environmental Scientist, Research Engineer/Engineer (General)

(This type of research is performed by those who have backgrounds for the occupations stated above. However, other titles may be applicable depending on the applicant's background, education, and research proposal. The final classification of the position will be made by the Human Resources specialist.)

Research Advisor(s): Michael Lewan, (303) 236-9391, mlewan@usgs.gov; Ronald Johnson, (303) 236-5546, rcjohnson@usgs.gov

Human Resources Office contact: Vanessa Chambless, (303) 236-9584, vchambless@usgs.gov

Summary of Opportunities