Thermochemical processing of high-sulfur Israeli shale

Abstract

The thermochemical processing of high-sulfur shale from the Mishor Rotem deposit (Israel) is studied in terms of the material balance, in a Fisher retort and a larger-scale laboratory system. The properties of the products (tar, char, and gas) are determined. The shale tar has a high sulfur content, on account of the presence of a wide range of thiophene derivatives. In the fractions of semicoking tar from Mishor Rotem shale that boil at temperatures up to 250°C, 236 compounds are quantitatively identified. The content of thiophene and its homologs with the substituents C₁–C₅ and of benzothiophene with alkyl substituents C₁–C₃ is determined.