초록 ▼

Pollution control substances may be formed from the combustion of oil shale, which may produce a kerogen-based pyrolysis gas and shale sorbent, each of which may be used to reduce, absorb, or adsorb pollutants in pollution producing combustion processes, pyrolysis processes, or other reaction proces

Pollution control substances may be formed from the combustion of oil shale, which may produce a kerogen-based pyrolysis gas and shale sorbent, each of which may be used to reduce, absorb, or adsorb pollutants in pollution producing combustion processes, pyrolysis processes, or other reaction processes. Pyrolysis gases produced during the combustion or gasification of oil shale may also be used as a combustion gas or may be processed or otherwise refined to produce synthetic gases and fuels.

대표청구항 ▼

What is claimed is: 1. A method for decreasing pollutants produced in a thermal conversion process, comprising: producing at least one pollutant selected from the group consisting of a chlorine-containing pollutant, a fluorine-containing pollutant, an iodine-containing pollutant, a phosphorous-cont

What is claimed is: 1. A method for decreasing pollutants produced in a thermal conversion process, comprising: producing at least one pollutant selected from the group consisting of a chlorine-containing pollutant, a fluorine-containing pollutant, an iodine-containing pollutant, a phosphorous-containing pollutant, a bromine-containing pollutant, and a mercury-containing pollutant in a thermal conversion process; introducing oil shale to the thermal conversion process to produce a plurality of shale sorbent particles and kerogen; and contacting the at least one pollutant with at least one of the plurality of shale sorbent particles. 2. The method of claim 1, wherein producing at least one pollutant selected from the group consisting of a chlorine-containing pollutant, a fluorine-containing pollutant, an iodine-containing pollutant, a phosphorous-containing pollutant, a bromine-containing pollutant, and a mercury-containing pollutant comprises producing at least one of elemental mercury and mercuric chloride. 3. The method of claim 1, wherein producing at least one pollutant selected from the group consisting of a chlorine-containing pollutant, a fluorine-containing pollutant, an iodine-containing pollutant, a phosphorous-containing pollutant, a bromine-containing pollutant, and a mercury-containing pollutant in a thermal conversion process comprises producing the at least one pollutant in a thermal conversion process selected from the group consisting of a coal boiler process, a pulverized coal combustor process, a cement kiln process, an ore refining process, a metals refining process, a calcination process, and a metal pyrolysis process. 4. The method of claim 1, wherein producing pollutant selected from the group consisting of a chlorine-containing pollutant, a fluorine-containing pollutant, an iodine-containing pollutant, a phosphorous-containing pollutant, a bromine-containing pollutant, and a mercury-containing pollutant in a thermal conversion process comprises producing the at least one pollutant in a thermal conversion process producing heat from a device selected from the group consisting of a furnace, a combustion chamber, a pulverized coal combustion chamber, a fluidized bed combustion chamber, a circulating bed combustion chamber, a staged reactor combustion chamber, an entrained-flow combustion chamber, a boiler, a reactor, a retort, a pyrolizer, a gasifier, a calcination device, an ore refining process, a metals refining process, an offgas duct, an offgas cleanup transport reactor, and a cement kiln. 5. The method of claim 1, wherein contacting the at least one pollutant with at least one of the plurality of shale sorbent particles comprises contacting at least one of mercury and mercuric chloride with the at least one of the plurality of shale sorbent particles at a temperature of less than or equal to about 200° C. 6. The method of claim 1, wherein introducing oil shale to the thermal conversion process to produce a plurality of shale sorbent particles and kerogen comprises devolatilizing kerogen from the oil shale to form a plurality of shale sorbent particles comprising a porous matrix. 7. The method of claim 1, wherein introducing oil shale to the thermal conversion process comprises introducing a plurality of oil shale particles having particle sizes ranging from about 50 μm to about 150 μm into a product stream of the thermal conversion process. 8. The method of claim 1, wherein contacting the at least one pollutant with at least one of the plurality of shale sorbent particles comprises adsorbing the at least one pollutant with the at least one of the plurality of shale sorbent particles. 9. The method of claim 1, further comprising producing a nitrogen-containing pollutant in the thermal conversion process. 10. The method of claim 9, further comprising exposing the nitrogen-containing pollutant to the kerogen. 11. The method of claim 1, wherein contacting the at least one pollutant with the at least one of the plurality of shale sorbent particles comprises contacting hydrochloric acid with the at least one of the plurality of shale sorbent particles at a temperature of from about 500° C. to less than about 1150° C. 12. A method of producing a pollutant control substance, comprising exposing oil shale to a thermal source to produce kerogen and a shale sorbent formulated to absorb or adsorb at least one pollutant selected from the group consisting of a chlorine-containing pollutant, a fluorine-containing pollutant, an iodine-containing pollutant, a phosphorous-containing pollutant, a bromine-containing pollutant, and a mercury-containing pollutant. 13. The method of claim 12, wherein exposing oil shale to a thermal source comprises exposing the oil shale to at least one process selected from the group consisting of heating the oil shale, pyrolyzing the oil shale, devolatilizing the oil shale, calcining the oil shale, reforming the oil shale, gasifying the oil shale, retorting the oil shale, coking the oil shale, and combusting the oil shale. 14. The method of claim 12, further comprising diverting at least a portion of the shale sorbent to at least one process selected from the group consisting of a storage process, a gas/oil combustion process, a cement kiln combustion process, a calcination process, an ore refining process, a metals refining process, a coal combustion process, a Fischer-Tropsch process, and a fuel refinement process. 15. The method of claim 12, further comprising processing the kerogen to produce a reductant for reducing nitrogen-containing pollutant. 16. The method of claim 12, further comprising heating the kerogen to a temperature of greater than or equal to about 350° C. to produce hydrocarbons from the kerogen. 17. The method of claim 12, further comprising diverting at least a portion of the kerogen to at least one process selected from the group consisting of a storage process, a gas/oil combustion process, a cement kiln combustion process, a coal combustion process, a calcination process, an ore refining process, a metals refining process, a Fischer-Tropsch process, and a fuel refinement process. 18. The method of claim 12, further comprising calcining the shale sorbent at a temperature of greater than or equal to about 450° C. 19. A combustion apparatus, comprising: a thermal conversion zone configured to combust a combustible material and produce at least one pollutant selected from the group consisting of nitrogen-containing pollutants, chlorine, hydroiodic acid, iodine, hydrofluoric acid, fluorine, hydrobromic acid, bromous acid, bromine, phosphoric acid, phosphorous pentaoxide, phosphine, phosphonium compounds, elemental mercury, and mercuric chloride; at least one feed zone configured to devolatilize kerogen from oil shale to produce a shale sorbent and kerogen; a pollutant contact zone configured to receive the kerogen from the at least one feed zone and to facilitate contact between the kerogen and the nitrogen-containing pollutants; and at least another pollutant contact zone configured to receive the shale sorbent from the at least one feed zone and to facilitate contact between the shale sorbent and the at least one pollutant. 20. The combustion apparatus of claim 19, wherein the pollutant contact zone is further configured to introduce the shale sorbent to the at least one of the mercury and the mercuric chloride at a temperature of less than or equal to about 200° C. 21. The combustion apparatus of claim 19, wherein the pollutant contact zone is further configured to heat the kerogen as to a temperature of greater than or equal to about 350° C. to produce hydrocarbons. 22. The combustion apparatus of claim 19, wherein the pollutant contact zone is adapted to accept and facilitate contact of at least one of the shale sorbent and the reductant with the at least one pollutant at a temperature ranging from about 450° C. to less than about 1150° C. 23. The combustion apparatus of claim 19, wherein the thermal conversion zone is operable at a temperature of between about 450° C. and about 1150° C. 24. The combustion apparatus of claim 19, wherein the combustion apparatus comprises at least one component selected from the group consisting of a cement kiln combustion chamber, a calcination reactor, a coal combustion chamber, a pulverized coal combustion chamber, a gas combustion chamber, a furnace, a boiler, a gasifier, a fluidized bed combustion chamber, a circulating bed combustion chamber, a staged reactor combustion chamber, an entrained-flow combustion chamber, a fixed-bed reactor, a fluidized-bed reactor, a transport-bed reactor, a steam reformer reactor, a rotary-bed reactor, an offgas duct, and an offgas cleanup transport reactor.