United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Air and Energy Engineering
Research Laboratory
Research Triangle Park NC 27711
Research and Development
EPA/600/S7-86/046 March 1987
&EPA Project Summary
Pollution Control Technical
Manual for Unishale B and
Unishale C Oil Shale Retorting
Kishor H. Gala and Edward R. Bates
This, the seventh EPA-prepared pol-
lution control technical manual (PCTM)
on synfuels, describes the Unishale B
and C oil shale retorting processes. This
technical handbook provides process,
discharge, and pollution control data in
summarized form for the use of permit
writers, developers, and other interested
parties. The PCTMs cover a range of
alternate fuel sources, including coal
gasification, coal liquefaction by direct
and indirect processing, and oil shale
retorting.
All PCTMs are prepared on a base
plant concept (coal gasification and
liquefaction) or developers' proposed
designs (oil shale) which may not fully
reflect plants to be built in the future.
The PCTMs present examples of control
applications, both as individual process
units and as integrated control trains.
These examples are taken in part from
applicable permit applications and,
therefore, reflect specific plants. None
of the examples are intended to convey
an Agency endorsement or recommen-
dation, but rather are presented for
illustrative purposes. The selection of
control technologies for application to
specific plants is the exclusive function
of the designers and permitters who
have the flexibility to utilize the lowest
cost and/or most effective approaches.
Readers should be able to relate their
waste streams and controls to those
presented in these manuals to enable
them to better understand the extent to
which various technologies may control
specific waste streams and utilize the
information in selecting control tech-
nology for their specific needs.
The PCTMs contain no legally binding
requirements or guidance, and nothing
contained in the PCTMs relieves a
facility from compliance with existing
or future environmental regulations or
permit requirements.
This Project Summary was developed
by EPA's Air and Energy Engineering
Research Laboratory, Research Triangle
Park, NC, to announce key findings of
the research project that Is fully docu-
mented In a separate report of the same
title (see Project Report ordering In-
formation at back).
Overview
The EPA has undertaken an extensive
study to determine synthetic fuel plant
waste stream characteristics and pollution
control systems. The purpose of this and
all other PCTMs is to convey this in-
formation in a manner that is readily
useful to designers, permit writers, and
the public.
The Unishale B and C oil shale PCTM
addresses two retorting technologies
developed by UNOCAL (Union Oil Com-
pany of California). This manual sum-
marizes information published by
UNOCAL and others on the Unishale B
and C processes. Major facility inputs
and outputs published by UNOCAL were
used as a starting point to develop a
description of mine/retort and upgrade
facilities capable of producing 83,000
barrels/day (bpd)* of syncrude from
115,000 tons/day (tpd) of 34 gallon/ton
Readers more familiar with metric units
may use the factors listed at the end of this
Summary to convert to that system
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(gpt) raw shale feed. The engineering
design, stream compositions, and pollu-
tion control alternatives presented here
are not intended to represent or reproduce
exactly those proposed or employed by
UNOCAL at its Parachute facility or any
other such facility. The design presented
here represents one of many possible
configurations for an oil shale facility
based on Union's technology, but in no
way obligates UNOCAL to adopt the
designs or pollution control options, nor
does it represent EPA's endorsement of
the designs and pollution control options.
Unishale B or C plants proposed or built
in the future can be expected to be similar
in most aspects to the plant described in
this document, but each can be expected
to vary in some respects; e.g., mining
methods, selection of particular control
technologies, or methods for upgrading
the raw shale oil.
This manual describes typical Unishale
B and C oil shale plants, characterizes
the waste streams produced in each
medium, and discusses commercially
available controls which can be applied
to the plant waste streams. From these
generally characterized controls, several
are examined in more detail for each
medium to illustrate typical control tech-
nology operation. Control technology cost
and performance estimates are presented,
together with descriptions of the dis-
charge streams, secondary waste streams,
and energy requirements.
Introduction
Background information on the devel-
opment of the Unishale B and C retorting
processes is presented along with a
description of the site, in western Colora-
do, where Union has proposed building
these two plants and has finished con-
struction of a 10,000-bpd commercial
size module plant.
The Union Oil Phase I and II projects
are at Union Oil's Parachute Creek pro-
perty in western Colorado. Phase I con-
sists of a mine, a single retort, and an
upgrading facility. The mine and retort
bench are along the east fork of Parachute
Creek; the upgrading facility is along the
lower portion of Parachute Creek valley.
The retorting and upgrading areas are
connected with pipelines which run along
a pipeline corridor.
The Phase I shale oil upgrading facility
is about 3 mi northwest of Parachute,
Colorado, and is designed to process
10,000 bpd of raw oil shale from the
Phase I Long Ridge experimental shale
oil plant. The Phase I mine will be at Long
Ridge and is a conventional room-and-
pillar (RAP) "mine designed for 15,156
tpd, 5 days per week, output. Average
run-of-the-mine (ROM) shale quality is
34 gpt. Primary and secondary crushing
as well as raw shale feed storage are
carried out underground. Retorting is
conducted aboveground in a Unishale B
indirectly heated vertical kiln retort.
The proposed Phase II shale oil plant,
will expand crude shale oil production by
80,000 bpd, for a total of 90,000 bpd. The
Phase II mining, crushing, and retorting
facilities will be on Old Mountain, on the
south side of the east fork of Parachute
Creek and across the valley from the
existing Phase I Long Ridge mine and
retort bench. The proposed Phase II ex-
pansion will consume 115,000 tpd of
raw shale, about 15 x 106 cu ft/day of
natural gas, an average of 14,300 acre-
ft/yr of water, and 185 MW of peak
electricity to produce the 80,000 bpd of
crude shale oil, 220 tpd of elemental
sulfur, and 300 tpd of anhydrous ammonia
by-products.
A new RAP underground mine will be
constructed at Old Mountain, and will
include underground primary crushing
and storage facilities. The existing Phase
I Long Ridge mine will be expanded in
support of the Phase II activities. New
materials handling and surface retorting
facilities will be constructed and put into
service in 20,000-bpd increments. Retorts
will be of the Unishale C configuration
which will include spent shale fluidized-
bed combustors for additional energy
recovery through combustion of residual
carbon on the spent shale material. The
existing Phase I upgrading facility will
also be expanded in 20,000-bpd incre-
ments to a total capacity of 90,000 bpd of
crude shale oil processing.
Process Flow Diagrams and
Flow Rates
Forty-eight flow diagrams illustrating
all operations in the Unishale B and C
plant complexes are presented in the
report. The integrated designs shown are
based on the development plans proposed
by Union Oil Company of California for
the Phase II oil shale program, but other
viable scenarios are possible in the areas
of processing and pollution control
To understand the interactions through-
out the plant complex, overall flow dia-
grams of both plant configurations based
on the Unishale B and C retorting tech-
nologies are presented, followed by flow
diagrams for individual unit processes in
each configuration Flow rates for all
major process and waste streams for
which information either exists or was
generated specifically for this document
by engineering calculations and judge- I
ment are indicated on each of the more
detailed diagrams, flow rates for streams
of an auxiliary nature (e g., cooling water
and steam) are not included in most
instances
Inventory and Composition of
Plant Process and Waste Streams
All but the most minor streams in the
plant complex are inventoried in the
report, and quantitative data are presented
to define important characteristics of the
streams. Detailed compositions of the
major streams are presented and show
changes in composition, from one point
to the next, throughout the plant
The stream compositions presented
were derived, to the extent possible, from
pilot plant test data. In the absence of
data from actual source testing, engi-
neering analyses were performed on the
technology and raw stream information
from proposed industrial developments.
The sources of these data, whether actual,
estimated, or derived from published or
unpublished information, are indicated.
The data presented are internally con-
sistent for the overall plant complex, i.e ,
the principal chemical elements involved
in emissions, effluents, and wastes are |
balanced throughout the plant. Trace "
elements generally are not considered
because of the lack of consistent data
available as a starting point The stream
compositions derived by engineering
analysis generally agree with the available
data from published sources Therefore,
the data presented, even though partly
derived by engineering analysis, are be-
lieved to be both representative of the
actual operations of such a plant and
accurate enough to lead to relevant con-
clusions in analyses of various pollution
controls
Pollution Control Technology
The report presents an inventory of
pollution control technologies and dis-
cusses, in depth, some representative
controls for each medium (air, water, and
solid waste). The inventory expands
beyond describing the technologies that
have been proposed for use by various
developers in conjunction with the
Unishale B and C retorting processes
That is, it discusses alternate and addi-
tional technologies that provide varying
levels of control. Although the inventory
is quite extensive, other possibilities may
exist and should not be excluded from
consideration Changes in the design of .
the plant complex, changes in the as-1
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sumptions made, and/or improved data
from future testing could lead to the
selection of different controls.
Each subject area for control (e.g.,
particulate control) begins with an in-
ventory of available technical approaches,
or technologies. Promising new control
technologies not yet applied commercial-
ly, even in related industries, are also
included in the inventory but are not
described in detail. Such new technol-
ogies may be applicable to the oil shale
industry if they are sufficiently developed
and tested in the future. The inventory is
followed by a discussion of the most
important considerations in selecting a
control. Finally, a more detailed analysis
of performance and cost is presented for
a few control technologies that would be
appropriate for use in conjunction with
the Unishale processes.
Detailed analyses estimate pollution
control performance and cost. Perform-
ance estimates generally require no more
than conceptual designs; however, the
reliability of the'performance estimates
varies depending on the application. The
estimates should be highly reliable where
a proven technology is applied to a con-
ventional stream for which experience
exists (e.g., flue gas desulfurization) but
I may be much less accurate for controls
which require testing and which are
applied to unconventional streams (e.g.,
biological oxidation). All performance
levels are given for instantaneous control
and reflect optimal operation, which may
be higher than the average level of per-
formance actually achieved. All cost
estimates are in mid-1980 dollars and
are taken to the level of detail believed to
be necessary to achieve ± 30% accuracy.
Process Upsets, Aborts, and
Emergency Containment
A brief discussion is presented of pos-
sible process upset conditions, and in-
formation is presented on treating/
disposing of wastes, off-spec products,
and spill materials that may result from
aborted runs or accidental discharges.
Metric Equivalents
Although EPA policy is to use metric
units in all its reports, nonmetric units
have been used in this summary for the
reader's convenience. Readers more
familiar with the metric system may use
the following factors to convert to that
system:
Nonmetric
Times
Yields Metric
acre-ft
bbl
ft3
gal.
ton
mi
1233
0.159
0.0283
0.00379
907
1.609
m3
m3
m3
m3
kg
km
Kishor H. Gala is with Denver Research Institute, University of Denver, Denver,
CO 80208.
Edward 8. Bates is the EPA Project Officer fsee below)
The complete report, entitled "Pollution Control Technical Manual for Unishale
B and Unishale C Oil Shale Retorting, " (Order No PB 87-141 065 AS, Cost
$42.95, subject to change) will be available only from
National Technical Information Service
5285 Port Royal Road
Springfield, V'A 22161
Telephone 703-487-4650
The EPA Project Officer can be contacted at
Air and Energy Engineering Research Laboratory
U S. Environmental Protection Agency
Research Triangle Park, NC 27711
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Agency
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