UTAH ACADEMY OF SCIENCES 211 
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DESTRUCTIVE DISTILLATION OF OIL- 
SHALES.* 
BY LEWIS C. KARRICK.? 
INTRODUCTION. 
In studying the destructive distillation of oil-shales, 
it is desired to know primarily the nature of the pyrolytic 
influences of heat on the organic components of the shale. 
The impracticability of isolating the kerogen of the shale 
from the mineral matter in which it is imbedded so as to 
conduct separate experimentation on the kerogen, leaves 
the problem extremely complex. 
The behavior of the kerogen of the shale while 
undergoing the heating process, is not what it would be, 
if it were isolated, under similar temperature conditions 
due to its own thermo-chemical properties, but is actually, 
that which is induced to take place under the influence 
of the mineral matter in contact with, and surrounding 
it. It must be remembered that the inorganic material 
of the shale is a heterogeneous mixture of minerals, and 
each mineral has a particular thermal conductivity which 
will differ from that of the kerogen, and hence heat will 
be conducted inwardly at rates which may greatly ex- 
ceed that required in the heat consuming reactions of the 
pyrolysis of the kerogen. Furthermore, within the heat 
range of the shale distillation are included the tempera- 
tures of dehydration of gypsum and some hydrous sili- 
cates, these minerals being frequently present in the 
shales. The evolution of water vapors from them will 
*Published by permission of the Director of U. S. Bureau of 
Mines. 
1Assistant Oil-Shale Technologist, U. S. Bureau of Mines. 
