EFFECT OF BIOLEACHING ON THE YIELD AND COMPOSITION OF MEIHEKOU OIL SHALE (CHINA)

The paper focuses on investigating the impact of mineral components of Meihekou oil shale on the conversion of organic carbon from the oil shale into shale oil. A number of leaching operations were performed and each product formed in the bioleaching process was analyzed. The analysis showed that the bioleaching technology used is best for oil shale conversion. The yield of shale oil was from 8.3% to 11.2%, and approximately 8.4% of extra shale oil was obtained. During bioleaching a lot of micropores were generated in oil shale, which is favorable to transfer heat from the outside into the inside of the bioleached oil shale sample. Therefore, more shale oil could be obtained through the inicropores rapidly, which may avoid shale oil from cracking into shale gas. Finally, bioleaching contributes to the production of more shale oil.