Oil Shale in Kansas

Abstract

Shale oil can be produced from a number of black shale deposits in Kansas. This report presents the results of testing of samples of some of these black shales from 37 locations. Kansas oil shales are in general black platy to fissile shales composed of fine silt and clay-sized minerals. They contain a relatively large percentage of black to light-brown bituminous matter. When viewed in thin section normal to the bedding plane the organic matter appears as thin laminations, but when viewed from a section cut parallel to the bedding planes it appears as blotches. Obtainable yields of shale oil range from a slight trace to a maximum of 22.8 gallons per ton, and the average yield from favorable localities is from 6 to 12 gallons per ton. Most of the shales tested yield a large volume of gas concurrent with the oil. The average yield is about 1,230 cubic feet per ton of gas that shows from 30 to 45 percent hydrogen and a very high B.t.u. content. The average specific gravity of the shale oil ranges from 0.53 to 0.73 with the majority of the samples from 0.61 to 0.63. Determination of the gross heating value of the shale as a bulk fuel showed that much of the material contains from 1,000 to more than 3,000 B.t.u. per pound.