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doi:10.14355/mwe.2014.0301.01
CharacterizationandBeneficiationofthe
EgyptianOrganicShaleforPossible
ExtractionofOrganicMatter
F.H.AbdElRahiem*,M.S.Hassan**,K.A.Selim***,N.A.AbdelKhalek****
CentralMetallurgicalResearchandDevelopmentInstitute,Cairo,Egypt
rababrashad2003@yahoo.com*;hassan_mervat@yahoo.com**;k2selem@yahoo.com***;naguialy@gmail.com****
Abstract
The present paper focused on obtaining concentrate
enriched with organic matter that could be suitable for a
retorting process from black shale which is organic shale
fromtheSafagaareaontheRedSeaCoast.Xraydiffraction
and optical polarising microscope were used in evaluating
blackshaleminerals.Attritionscrubbingandflotationwere
conducted for enrichment of organic matter in the black
shale sample. Mineralogical studies revealed that black
shale samples contain bituminous calcareous clay stone,
quartz,apatiteandpyrite.
Rabah mine organic shale contains about 28% organic
matter. The results of the different separation techniques
indicated that attritioning and flotation techniques
successively enriched the organic matter in the organic
shale .The organic matter could be enriched in the black
shaleandobtainedaconcentratewith~about59%assaying
and~85%recovery.
Keywords
Organic Shale; Kerogen; Organic Matter; Attrition Scrubbing;
Flotation
Introduction
Oil shale is organic fine grain sedimentary rock that
contains kerogen which is a mixture of organic
compound. Oil shales vary considerably in their
mineral content, chemical composition, age, type of
kerogen, and depositional history and not all oil
shaleswouldnecessarilybeclassifiedasshalesinthe
strict sense [Altun, et al]. The mineral matter in oil
shale includes various finegrained silicates and
carbonates.[AlWakeel and ElAdly] [Fahlstrom].
Inorganic matrix can contain quartz, feldspars, clays
(mainly illite and chlorite), carbonates (calcite and
dolomites), pyrite and some other minerals [Cane].
Meanwhile, black shale is shales typically composed
of variable amounts of clay minerals and quartz
grains with variable amounts of carbonaceous
material and indicates a reducing environment [Blatt
andRobert].
Blackshaleisatermusedinindustryforsedimentary
formations comprising clay deposits with layers
containing a black organic matter, which may be a
polymercalledkerogenorcarbonaceousmatter(coal).
Sedimentaryformationscontainingkerogenarecalled
oil shale, while the formations containing coal are
calledcarbonaceousshale.Bothofthemarecommon
andwelldistributedinEgypt[Dyni].
The energy situation is one of the most difficult
problems. The growing shortage of crude petroleum
and its increasing cost have resulted in renewed
worldwide interest in black shale. Black shale
represents a potential source of energy and
hydrocarbons, which should be fully utilized in the
near future [Tamimi and Uysal]. In addition, black
shale is used in the cement industry as a source for
energy and luminous silicate components. Other
potentialbyproductsincludecarbonfibers,absorbent
carbon, carbon black, bricks, construction and
decorative building blocks, soil additives and rock
wool.Recently,itwasprovedthatblackshalecanbe
used for the production of filled grease such as
lithiumlubricatinggrease[AlWakeelandElAdly].
The beneficiation of oil shale to recover kerogen
enriched products was proposed as early as 1920 by
Dolbear. Later, the US Bureau of Mines and others
reported work on beneficiation of western oil shale
[Parkingson, Thomas,R.D. and Lorenz]. Meanwhile,
Reisberg and Fahlstrom published the results on
flotation and oil agglomeration of finely ground oil
shaleparticlesintherangeof15150mm.
They reported that the separation of kerogen rich
particles with an efficiency of ~ about 70% was
obtained. Heavy liquid separation was reported to
upgrade oil shale, but the kerogen recovery in the
enrichedproductsinmostcasesrangedfrom14to50%
ofthefeed[Larsonatel]
www.mwejournal.orgJournalofMiningWorldExpress,Volume32014
depositsintheRedSeaandAbuTarturareas(Fig.1).
FIG.2STRATIGRAPHYOFBLACKSHALEINEGYPT
FIG.1LOCATIONSOFMAINORGANICSHALEOCCURRENCE
INEGYPT
OccurrenceofOrganicShaleinEgypt
Black shale in Egypt is widely distributed in the
WesternDesert,EasternDesertandSinai;coveringa
wide age spectrum from middle Jurassic to upper
Cretaceous (CampanianMaastrichtian black shale of
DuwiFormation);aswellbeingdepositedindifferent
depositional environments including non marine
(Jurassic organic shale) and marine (organic shale of
Duwi Formation) association with other ores such as
coal in the Maghara area, Sinai or phosphorite
FIG.3PHOTOSOFBLACKSHALEINTHEFIELD(A&B)AND
UNDERMICROSCOPE(C)
LocationandGeologicSetting
TheMagharaareaislocatedapproximately200kmto
thenortheastofCairoabout50kmsouthoftheSinai
Mediterranean Coast. It is a rectangular massive
about 45 km length and 30 km width and covers
approximately 1300 km2 situated between longitude
3310 and 3335E and latitude 3035 and 3050N
[Mostafa, Younes]. It is the only major Jurassic
outcrop in North Sinai and hosts the economic coal
beds. Coalbearing formation consists of 215 m
thickness carbonaceous, banded, silty sandstone with
a few earthy grey limestone and contains Bathonian
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www.mwejournal.orgJournalofMiningWorldExpress,Volume32014
Samples
FIG.4PETROGRAPHYOFORGANICMATTERINTHEREDSEA
ORGANICSHALE
B22
B23
B24
B29
B210
B211
Yones6
Yones18
Yones19
Yones20
Yones22
WFlow2
WFlow5
WFlow9
Tondb22
Tondb23
Isl.13
Isl.17
Galal1
Galal8
Galal11
Nekhel27
Nekhel31
TMine52
TMine40
TMine35
TMine33
MRoof
ABSH2
ABSH3
ABSH5
ABSH6
ABSH8
TGate21
Abu2
Abu29
RG33
Maghara
Corg
RedSea
AbuTartur
5.15
7.94
4.74
8.05
6.07
6.38
17.86
17.52
17.20
16.39
21.02
14.51
21.05
17.48
14.58
13.96
15.89
10.78
1.10
11.64
15.08
20.52
20.17
0.96
0.45
0.50
0.50
1.92
3.72
3.53
4.31
0.62
1.10
1.44
3.58
3.39
1.02
N
0.09
0.15
0.10
0.15
0.11
0.12
0.55
0.37
0.37
0.36
0.53
0.38
0.65
0.54
0.45
0.45
0.46
0.28
0.05
0.30
0.43
0.59
0.53
0.04
0.03
0.03
0.04
0.13
0.17
0.14
0.15
0.04
0.07
0.07
0.10
0.13
0.08
Corg/N
54.81
53.65
46.76
55.11
57.22
53.62
32.70
46.99
45.98
45.08
39.96
38.45
32.58
32.20
32.58
30.96
34.70
39.07
24.52
38.53
35.48
34.89
38.12
22.88
14.97
15.05
14.22
15.15
21.40
24.44
28.09
16.82
16.83
20.22
34.93
26.31
13.57
a)OrganicCarbonandNitrogen
Results of organic carbonand nitrogen are shown
JournalofMiningWorldExpress,Volume32014www.mwejournal.org
16
organicshaleoftheRedSeaandAbuTarturareas.
This implies the effect of source and depositional
environmentonthevariationofCorg/Nratios.High
Corg/Nratiosinsedimentsofthesamedepositional
environmentsuchasorganicshalesofRedSeaand
AbuTartur areas (marine origin) reflect the
preferentialreleaseofNduringdiagenesis.
b)InorganicConstituents
Mineralogicalanalysesoftheinorganicfractionsof
theblackshalerevealedthatthesekerogenblack
shales are composed of clay minerals, calcite and
quartzwithtracesoffeldsparsandpyrite[AbdEl
RahmanandAlWakeel].Nonmarineblackshales
of Maghara area are characterized by the
abundanceofkaoliniteoversmectitewhilemarine
organicshalesofRedSeaandAbuTarturareasare
characterized by the abundance of smectite over
kaolinite. Calcite is relatively high in the organic
shaleofRedSeaarea(Fig.6).
14
Organic C %
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
A
Maghara BS
Red Sea BS
Abu Tartur BS
1.4
1.2
N (Wt. %)
0.8
FIG.6MINERALOGYOFTHEEGYPTIANORGANICSHALES
0.6
0.4
2
0.2
0
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
TOC (Wt. %)
Coals
Jur. Shales
70
80
Cam.-Maas. Shales
FIG.5ORGANICGEOCHEMISTRYOFTHEEGYPTIAN
ORGANICSHALE
FIG.7INORGANICGEOCHEMISTRYOFTHEEGYPTIAN
ORGANICSHALES
Chemicalanalysesoftheinorganicfractions(Table
2),indicatedthattheblackshalesofMagharaarea
are characterized by relative abundance of TiO2,
Al2O3; while Red Sea organic shales are
characterized by relative abundance of Ca and
P2O5(Fig.7).
JournalofMiningWorldExpress,Volume32014www.mwejournal.org
doi:10.14355/mwe.2014.0301.01
TABLE2INORGANICGEOCHEMISTRYOFTHEEGYPTIANORGANICSHALES
Samples
Fe2O3
TiO2
CaO
K2O
P2O5
B22
B23
B24
Maghara
B29
B210
B211
Nekhel27
Galal11
Islam13
RedSea
Yones20
Wat.Flow5
Hamrawin55
Tondob23
ABSH2
ABSH3
ABSH5
ABSH6
ABSH8
AbuTartur
T.Mine33
T.Mine35
T.Mine40
T.Mine52
MineRoof
6.356
7.079
3.984
7.031
5.949
6.218
1.845
2.683
2.987
2.997
1.713
3.589
2.640
7.048
5.439
5.637
5.776
7.016
4.681
3.614
3.708
4.285
6.124
2.027
1.993
1.819
1.855
1.800
1.803
0.237
0.232
0.249
0.390
0.177
0.397
0.294
0.937
0.789
0.778
1.009
0.907
0.856
0.901
0.821
0.876
0.961
1.081
0.946
0.957
1.008
0.993
0.964
11.236
18.181
18.837
13.083
15.876
7.411
24.659
1.123
1.457
1.433
1.077
1.015
0.693
0.812
0.898
1.045
1.395
1.081
0.946
0.957
1.008
0.993
0.964
0.464
0.504
0.559
1.026
0.311
0.570
0.543
1.123
1.457
1.433
1.077
1.015
0.693
0.812
0.898
1.045
1.395
0.073
0.057
0.053
0.068
0.072
0.078
7.134
11.706
12.104
8.647
10.308
4.531
15.971
0.290
1.316
0.743
0.212
0.323
0.265
0.202
0.333
0.222
0.340
SiO2
46.272
46.048
46.400
47.500
56.100
56.800
32.500
27.300
26.600
28.895
27.000
39.000
21.343
55.300
57.120
54.800
58.832
54.641
63.000
65.000
64.992
64.000
62.000
Al2O3
MgO
L.O.I.
20.889
17.518
26.785
17.661
17.337
16.621
4.791
5.085
5.468
8.456
3.502
12.360
5.504
20.784
17.292
17.018
18.281
18.893
17.336
16.456
17.393
14.438
16.137
0.545
0.395
0.439
0.500
0.550
0.543
0.836
0.939
1.003
6.636
0.607
4.062
1.225
2.518
2.521
3.175
2.884
3.165
3.495
3.526
3.310
3.791
2.541
21.07
24.16
18.26
23.35
15.87
15.85
40.99
32.91
32.45
30.27
40.92
27.35
26.59
10.26
12.06
14.06
7.70
9.14
8.35
8.08
6.80
9.77
8.05
BeneficiationofBlackShale
Granulometric analysis of the organic shale sample
wasconductedaftercrushing.Thesizeanalysisdata,
inadditiontoorganicmattercontentaregiveninFig.
8.Itcanbenoticedthattheorganicmatterpercentage
increaseswiththedecreasinggrainsize.
Cond.Time,min.
30
30
80
29
60
28
Organic C %
Cumulative Wt % Passed
PROCESS
31
100
60
90
Cumulative Wt % Passed
Organic C %
27
20
0
0.01
TABLE3EFFECTOFCONDITIONINGTIMEONTHEATTRITIONING
32
120
40
120
26
10
100
Size , mm
Wt%
OrganicC%
67.19
32.81
48.14
51.86
42.97
57.03
34.78
65.19
31.31
24.27
33.07
25.22
35.47
24.13
35.25
25.72
2)FlotationOrganicShaleSample
25
0.1
Prod.
+0.045
0.045
+0.045
0.045
+0.045
0.045
+0.045
0.045
FIG.8GRAINSIZEDISTRIBUTIONANDORGANICMATTER
WEIGHTPERCENTAGEORGANICSHALE
1)WetAttritionScrubberoftheCrushedOres
Thistechniquewassuggestedasasubstituteofthe
conventional ball or rod milling in organic shale
beneficiation to take advantage of the friable
natureoforganicshale,atthebeginningofMohs
scale. The objective of this process was to achieve
preconcentration of organic shale by different
grindingfromtheharderimpurities.
JournalofMiningWorldExpress,Volume32014www.mwejournal.org
bonding,increasingtheirhydrophobicity,compared
tothenegativelychargedsilicateparticles[AbdEl
Rahman and AlWakeel]. A float product
containing about 42% organic matter with 81%
recovery was obtained. After cleaning a organic
carbon of float product reached about 59% with
recovery 85%, as shown as table 4. Based on the
resultsobtainedfromthetests,theflowsheetofthe
processingofoilshalewassuggestedinFig.9.
Inst.MinMetall.C),2007,VOL116,NO3,189196.
CLEANING
Wt% OrganicC%
60.72
58.90
39.28
15.88
REFERENCES
TABLE4THEFINALCONCENTRATEOFORGANICSHALEAFTER
Prod.
Conc.
Tail
OrganicCRecovery%
85.15
14.85
FIG.9FLOWSHEETOFPROCESSINGOFRABAHORGANIC
SHALE
Conclusions
1) Organic shales from Red Sea area have the
highest organic contents and therefore
concentration process should start with these
shales.
2) Inorganicconstituentscanbeutilizedinmany
otherapplicationssuchasbricks.
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