Oil-Shale: An Historical, Technical, and Economic Study Page: 24
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OIL SHALE.
A sample of the unweathered shale assayed by the Bureau of
Mines yielded 16.5 gallons of oil (specific gravity 0.930) to the
ton, and contained 0.40 per cent of nitrogen, indicating a theo-
retical yield of 37.8 pounds of ammonium sulphate to the ton.
Table 26 (page 175) contains a distillation analysis, made by the
bureau, of an oil from unweathered Indiana shale. This is sim-
ilax to oil produced from Kentucky shale.
ECONOMIC IMPORTANCE OF THE BLACK SHALES OF THE EASTERN STATES.
Though the black oil-yielding shales of Kentucky have re-
ceived more attention than those of neighboring states, the de-
posits in Indiana and Ohio deserve at least equal consideration.
Nor should the shales of other Eastern States be ignored.
Indiana in particular contains very large deposits of these
shales, which outcrop in the southeastern part of the State, be-
tween North Vernon and New Albany, and which are known
locally as the New Albany shales. The Bureau of Mines and
State of Indiana are now working in co-operation to establish
the economic value of these deposits. The description given
above of the Kentucky shales applies almost as well to the Indiana
shales, though the average oil yield of the latter is apparently
less than that of the Kentucky shales.
On first thought, the eastern shales do not appear very
attractive, because of their low oil yield as compared with the
western shales, but to offset this, to a considerable extent at least,
the following factors must be considered in connection with the
eastern deposits:
Possible method of mining. Thousands of acres of the shales
can be cheaply mined by steam shovels, and as the beds are ex-
posed to a great extent, in knobs and hills, gravity will be of
great aid in mining.
Transportation. Large areas of shale lie directly on, or at
very short distances from railroads, thus making the transpor-
tation of supplies to, and products from a plant, a very simple
problem.
Market. The deposits are close to an unlimited, though now
highly competitive market for products, and close to sources of
mining and other supplies.
Water. It is generally conceded that a commercial shale-re-
torting plant should include a refinery. Water for condensing
and for refinery use is plentiful through the shale district.
Properties of the shale. Experiments have shown that this
shale will not coke on retorting and is easily crushed.241
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Gavin, Martin J. Oil-Shale: An Historical, Technical, and Economic Study, report, July 1922; Denver, Colorado. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc66388/m1/44/: accessed April 24, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.