Carbon Measurement of Oil Shale

Introduction

Oil shale, also called kerogen shale, is a type of sedimentary rock that has a high content of hydrocarbons in the stage prior to petroleum. The gas obtained by heating oil shale is called oil shale gas, while the natural gas enclosed in fine cracks in sedimentary rocks is called shale gas. In some cases, oil shale is used for power generation and heating by direct combustion. As high expectations are placed on oil shale as an energy source, the carbon content of oil shale is an important factor. The system using Shimadzu TOC-L total organic carbon analyzer and SSM-5000A solid sample combustion unit measures the carbon content of solid samples by direct combustion at high temperature. This system does not require extraction or other troublesome pretreatment, and enables measurement of the total carbon content with a high recovery rate and accuracy. This article introduces an example of measurement of the total carbon content of oil shale by using the above- mentioned system.

July 2, 2018 GMT