KENTORT II is an above-ground shale oil extraction process developed by the Center for Applied Energy Research of the University of Kentucky

University of Kentucky

The University of Kentucky, also known as UK, is a public co-educational university and is one of the state's two land-grant universities, located in Lexington, Kentucky...

. It is a hot recycled solids fluidized bed

Fluidized bed

A fluidized bed is formed when a quantity of a solid particulate substance is placed under appropriate conditions to cause the solid/fluid mixture to behave as a fluid. This is usually achieved by the introduction of pressurized fluid through the particulate medium...

 retorting process developed since 1982 for processing the eastern United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 Devonian

Devonian

The Devonian is a geologic period and system of the Paleozoic Era spanning from the end of the Silurian Period, about 416.0 ± 2.8 Mya , to the beginning of the Carboniferous Period, about 359.2 ± 2.5 Mya...

 oil shale

Oil shale

Oil shale, an organic-rich fine-grained sedimentary rock, contains significant amounts of kerogen from which liquid hydrocarbons called shale oil can be produced...

s. The concept of this process was initiated in 1986 in the test unit.

The KENTORT II retort consists of four fluidized bed vessels, configured in cascade. The raw oil shale is fed to the pyrolysis

Pyrolysis

Pyrolysis is a thermochemical decomposition of organic material at elevated temperatures without the participation of oxygen. It involves the simultaneous change of chemical composition and physical phase, and is irreversible...

 vessel the pyrolysis section, where it is fluidized by a mixture of steam and product oil shale gas

Oil shale gas

Oil shale gas is a synthetic gas mixture produced by oil shale pyrolysis. Although often referred to as shale gas, it differs from the natural gas produced from shale, which is also known as shale gas.-Process:...

 from the gasification section below. Heat is transferred to the raw oil shale by a combination of fluidizing gas and recirculating hot spent shale from the gasification section. The pyrolysis takes place at 500 °C (932 °F) to 550 °C (1,022 °F).

The pyrolyzed oil shale moves by gravity downward to the gasification section. Gasification, which takes place at 750 °C (1,382 °F) to 850 °C (1,562 °F), converts remained carbon

Carbon

Carbon is the chemical element with symbol C and atomic number 6. As a member of group 14 on the periodic table, it is nonmetallic and tetravalent—making four electrons available to form covalent chemical bonds...

 in the spent shale (char

Char

Char is the solid material that remains after light gases and tar coal tar have been driven out or released from a carbonaceous material during the initial stage of combustion, which is known as carbonization, charring, devolatilization or pyrolysis.Further stages of efficient combustion are...

) to product oil shale gas. Steam from the cooling zone is used for fluidizing the sent shale while heat transferred by hot solids (oil shale ash) from the combustion section. The spent shale moves to the combustion section where it is burnt to heat the process, while oil shale ash moves to the cooling section before its removal from the retort.

See also

• Galoter process
  Galoter process
  The Galoter process 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 decomposed into shale oil, oil shale gas, and spent residue...
  
  
• Alberta Taciuk Process
  Alberta Taciuk Process
  The Alberta Taciuk process is an above-ground dry thermal retorting technology for extracting oil from oil sands, oil shale and other organics-bearing materials, including oil contaminated soils, sludges and wastes...
  
  
• Petrosix process
  Petrosix
  Petrosix is currently the world’s largest surface oil shale pyrolysis retort with an diameter vertical shaft kiln, operational since 1992. It is located in São Mateus do Sul, Brazil, and it is owned and operated by the Brazil energy company Petrobras. Petrosix means also the Petrosix process, an...
  
  
• Kiviter process
  Kiviter process
  -History:The Kiviter process is based on the earlier vertical retort technology . This technology underwent a long process of development...
  
  
• TOSCO II process
  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 transfer between the retort and a heater...
  
  
• Fushun process
  Fushun process
  The Fushun process is an above-ground retorting technology for shale oil extraction. It is named after the main production site of Fushun, Liaoning province in northeastern China.-History:...
  
  
• Paraho 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:...
  
  
• Lurgi-Ruhrgas process
  Lurgi-Ruhrgas process
  The Lurgi–Ruhrgas process is an above-ground coal liquefaction and shale oil extraction technology. It is classified as a hot recycled solids technology.-History:...
  
  
• Chevron STB process
  Chevron STB process
  The Chevron STB process is an above-ground shale oil extraction technology. It is classified as a hot recycled solids technology....
  
  
• LLNL HRS process
  LLNL HRS process
  LLNL HRS process is an above-ground shale oil extraction technology. It is classified as a hot recycled solids technology.-History:The process was developed by the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory...