This study presents a literature review of the physical and thermodynamic properties of kukersite oil shale oil (or “synthetic crude oil”) as found in public literature. The work showed that although there is nearly a century-old history of shale oil production in Estonia, there are very few data about the thermodynamic properties and only a limited number of property prediction methods related to shale oil produced from kukersite. Publicly available information on the physical and thermodynamic properties of kukersite shale oil originates mainly from the period of 1930 to 1960. The data found are predominantly for the lighter part of the synthetic crude oil, i.e. the part for which the condensation temperatures of the atmospheric distillation curve (average atmospheric boiling points of the fractions) are lower than 300–350 °C. Data and studies can be found about several main physical and thermodynamic properties, such as specific gravity, atmospheric boiling point, molecular weight, enthalpy of vaporization at the boiling point, heat capacity, thermal conductivity, viscosity, surface tension and vapor pressure. But in general, this information is not a systematic set of data intended for determination of thermodynamic properties, but rather it lays out trends and supports the simplest approaches for calculating thermodynamic properties based on “undefined” pseudocomponents (a mixture of compounds that behave similarly).
1. Dyni, J. R. Geology and resources of some world oil-shale deposits. Oil Shale, 2003, 20(3),193–252.
2. Owen, N. A., Inderwildi, O. R., King, D. A. The status of conventional world oil reserves – Hype or cause for concern? Energ. Policy, 2010, 38(8), 4743–4749.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2010.02.026
3. Oja, V., Suuberg, E. M. Oil shale processing, chemistry and technology. In: Fossil Energy, Selected Entries from the Encyclopedia of Sustainability Science and Technology (Malhotra, R., ed.). Springer Science + Businesss Media, New York, 2013, 99–148.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-5722-0_5
4. Urov, K., Sumberg, A. Characteristics of oil shales and shale-like rocks of known deposits and outcrops. Oil Shale, 1999, 16(3 special: monograph), 1–64.
5. Oja, V. Characterization of tars from Estonian Kukersite oil shale based on their volatility. J. Anal. Appl. Pyrol., 2005, 74(1–2), 55–60.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jaap.2004.11.032
6. Oja, V. Vaporization parameters of primary pyrolysis oil from kukersite oil shale. Oil Shale, 2015, 32(2), 124–133.
http://dx.doi.org/10.3176/oil.2015.2.03
7. Solomon, P. R., Carangelo, R. M., Horn, E. The effects of pyrolysis conditions on Israeli oil shale properties. Fuel, 1986, 65(5), 650–662.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0016-2361(86)90360-1
8. Tsonopoulos, C., Heidman, J. L., Hwang, S.-C. Thermodynamic and Transport Properties of Coal Liquids. An Exxon Monograph. John Wiley & Sons, 1986.
9. Oja, V. Is it time to improve the status of oil shale science? Oil Shale, 2007, 24(2), 97–99.
10. Zelenin, N. I., Fainberg, V. S., Chernysheva, K. B. Chapter 5: Composition and properties of tars (Sostav i svojstva smoly). In: Chemistry and technology of oil shale tars (Khimiya i tekhnologiya slantsevoj smoly). Khimiya, Leningrad, 1968, 132–179 (in Russian).
11. Klesment, I., Hallik, E. Comparative charcterization of oil shale semicoking tars (Sravnitel'naya kharakteristika smol polukoksovaniya gorjuchikh slantsev). In: Chemistry and technology of oil shale and products of its processing (Khimiya i tekhnologiya gorjuchikh slantsev i produktov ikh pererabotki). (Petuhov, E. F., et al., eds.). Leningrad, 1963 (in Russian).
12. Riazi, M. R. Characterization and Properties of Petroleum Fractions. ASTM International, Philadelphia (USA), 2005.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1520/MNL50_1ST-EB
13. Baird, Z. S., Oja, V., Järvik, O. Distribution of hydroxyl groups in Kukersite shale oil: quantitative determination using Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy. Appl. Spectrosc., 2015, 69(5), 555–562.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1366/14-07705
14. Kogerman, P. N., Kõll, A. Physical properties of Estonian shale oils. Oil Shale Research Laboratory, Tartu, 1930.
15. Watson, K. M., Nelson, E. F. Improved methods for approximating critical and thermal porperties of petroleum fractions. Ind. Eng. Chem., 1933, 25(8), 880–887.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/ie50284a012
16. Kogerman, P. N. On the chemistry of the Estonian oil shale “Kukersite“: a monograph. K. Matties, Ltd., Tartu, 1931.
17. Luts, K. Der estländische Brennschiefer-Kukersit, seine Chemie, Tehnologie und Analyse. Revaler Buchverlag G.M.B.H., Reval, 1944 (in German).
18. Kollerov, D. K. Physicochemical properties of oil shale and coal liquids (Fiziko-khimicheskie svojstva zhidkikh slantsevykh i kamenougol'nykh produktov). Moscow, 1951 (in Russian).
19. Skrynnikova, G. N. Experimental investigation of thermal conductivity coefficients of oil shale pyrolysis liquids (Eksperimental'noe issledovanie koéffitsienta teploprovodnosti zhidkikh slantsevykh produktov). In: Chemistry and technology of products of oil shale processing (Khimiya i tekhnologiya produktov pererabotki slantsev). (Kollerov, D. K., Zelenin, N. Ya., Garnovskaya, G. N., eds.). Leningrad, 1954, 242–268 (in Russian).
20. Kollerov, D. K. About Bachinski's relationship of viscosity (O zakone vyazkosti Bachinskogo). In: Chemistry and technology of products of oil shale processing (Khimiya i tekhnologiya produktov pererabotki slantsev). (Kollerov, D. K., Zelenin, N. J., Garnovskaya, G. N., eds.). Leningrad, 1954, 216–227 (in Russian).
21. Kollerov, D. K. Regarding the use of the characterization fractor K = .. in characterization of hydrocarbon liquids (K voprosu o fizicheskoj sushchnosti pokazatelya K= ... uglevodorodnykh zhidkostej). In: Chemistry and technology of products of oil shale processing (Khimiya i tekhnologiya produktov pererabotki slantsev). (Kollerov, D. K., Zelenin, N. J., Garnovskaya, G. N., eds.). Leningrad, 1954, 228–241 (in Russian).
22. Zelenin, N. I., Fainberg, V. S., Chernysheva, K. B. Chapter 5: Physicochemical properties (Fiziko-khimicheskie svojstva). In: Chemistry and technology of oil shale tars (Khimiya i tekhnologiya slantsevoj smoly). Khimiya, Leningrad, 1968, 132–179 (in Russian).
23. Mölder, L., Tamvelius, H., Tiikma, L., Tshuryumova, T. Viscosity of shale oil binary blends. Oil Shale, 1999, 16(1), 42–50.
24. Mölder, L., Tamvelius, H., Tiikma, L. Viscosity of shale oil originated distillate oil – residual petroleum oil binary blends. Oil Shale, 1999, 16(2), 133–140.
25. Mölder, L., Tamvelius, H., Tiikma, L. Viscosity and stability of distillate petroleum oil – residual petroleum oil and distillate petroleum oil - shale oil binary blends. Oil Shale, 1999, 16(3), 239–248.
26. Lovell, P. F. Production of Utah shale oils by the Paraho DH and Union “B“ retorting processes. In: Eleventh Oil Shale Symposium Proceedings (Gary, J. H., ed.). Colorado School of Mines Press, Golden, Colorado, 1978, 184–192.
