Show new devonian latest thing in oil shale retort patented by salt S a lt laker and test plant running rivalry in the field of invention having for its object the perfection of processes for the economical and commercial treatment of and petroleum soaked sands of which utah colorado and other western states are so abundantly supplied has become so sharp during the past year or so that the mining review has given much space to a description of them or at least the most prominent of them for the sole purpose of keeping its readers advised concerning the progress made and results attained no partiality has been shown and no invidious comparisons have been drawn it is realized that the problems involved in perfecting processes that are destined in the near future at any time to revolutionize the business of supplying the world with motor oils and spirits and their accompanying products byproducts by are re altogether too weighty and important for ill advised or immature comment and criticism for these reasons the mining alining review has endeavored to show what has been and is going on without bias and for the lasting benefit of an industry that is just being born and which promises to solve for ages to come the question of an adequate and constant supply of petroleum oils and spirits and the kindred products that are obtainable from the uncountable bil lions of tons of raw product now recognized as being available for conversion into greatly need needed ed commercial forms two weeks ago the gannet process of treating oil was described in these columns in this article is reviewed the experimental efforts of a local technician in the development of another process and its mechanical application to the recovery or manufacture of oils and spirits from om oil shale and the more simply handled oil saturated petroleum sands how latest patented retort was evolved R blat at has been designated as the new devonian type retort has recently been perfected and patented by J B jenson of salt lake city it is the result of nearly twenty bears jears of experimental and research work on the part of its inventor who during that time has built many shale treat ing g retorts which were designed and tested ou out t for ual purposes in order to obtain technical information feces ary sa but built before re a ricely strictly scientific retort could be designed and A testing unit of this latest creation of the brain of mr jenson son is ls now being most successfully operated in this city id plans p ns it t is said are being perfected for the building of an ler 1 adult plant of to 1000 ton unit capa capacity capacio cit Y on a se ted led property ty in the immediate future the first experimental Pm retort was of the pumpherston Pump herston type west y and i was vas erected and operated by mr jenson at 34 so mam temple mple street this city in the plant of the acice acme machinery finery company in 1902 owing to the difficulties which are encountered in this type of retort when the high grade refractory american are treated its use was discontinued and it was dismantled not however until valuable data had been obtained and plans made which should overcome this trouble A horizontal type 10 feet long and 14 inches in diameter was next built after this second retort had been used some weeks it was converted into a horizontal fractionating retort with a view to producing fractions of different quantities in one operation and while fairly good results were obtained it was not considered satisfactory from a co commercial m i mercial standpoint nevertheless much valuable data from another angle was again acquired from the experiments performed with this retort it was the technical information that was obtained in the operation of these three types of retort that led to the design and erection of the new stage process plant on depot avenue salt lake city in 1917 and which retort was used for or making semi commercial tests on the from almost every portion of the western fields during the period between the year 1917 and 1923 when this retort was dismantled and stored on account of expiration of lease for the premises occupied simultaneous simultaneously sly with the operation of the stage deduc tion furnace the metal retort and process wherein the or other products to be treated are passed through a bath of molten metal arid the new devonian type retort were built and operated and when perfected about three years ago ago patent for each was applied for new devonian patents recently received the new devonian retort for which patent has recently been obtained represents and has incorporated in it everything from a scientific standpoint that has been discovered and worked out in these various types of retort for the successful and economical production of oil from shale oil sands and other products the devonian type is therefore thelast the last word in scientific retorting of either or oil sands and has the largest ahr throughput at the lowest of cost of any retort thus far built in any part of the world it is further capable with proper handling by the operator of largely producing a paraffin product from an asphalt product this is accomplished by an ad in the zone of decomposition of all of the elements which go to produce a perfect paraffin product and conducting it under certain known conditions as to temperature pressure and quantity of the elements through the re retort tort and into the con condenser d enser system features of operation the retort is heated approximately one third externally and two third internally the heating mediums are superheated super heated steam and a superheated super heated condensable non gas each of which is admitted and intimately mixed in known proportion and expanded immediately below the zone of distillation passing into the zone of distillation and taking into combination and carrying away all ah gases formed by the decomposition of the pretro logen contained in the material under treatment whether this be oil sands or coal etc the retort is foolproof fool proof it is impossible to burn the petro logen or the gases after the decomposition of the petro logen this is due to the fact that the material under treatment does not come in with the hot shell of the retort which is being heated externally but only into contact with the heating medium the heating medium absorbs the heat from the retort shell and from the super heating system sy stern I 1 A heat exchange system is employed wherein the cooling air from the spent shale passes upward through the spent shale thence upward through the system and into the their purposes being first to cool the spent shale effecting a perfect system of heat exchange so that the shale or sand when entering the retort does so at a temperature just below that of distillation novel features and low costs the retort produces its own heat and its own power when the head room is sufficient a single unit can be built to handle 1000 tons per day the minimum of a properly designed retort being approximately tons per day the material may be handled in almost any size from one half inch diameter to as much as 10 inches in diar diameter neler at present excellent results are being obtained on pieces two to six inches in diameter although the most economical size is of a maximum of about two inches the retort is continuous in operation and is adjustable so that it may produce from a minimum or 01 3 of gasoline in the original distillation to as much as 70 or more this through the insertion of a refining tube a unit to be added when it is desired to produce a maximum maximum of shalene or motor fuel I 1 the installation cost of the devonian type retort is declared to be less than one third that of any other retort of a similar range of capacity and the operating cost is proportionately small making it by all means the most economical retort to operate and the lowest first cost retort in existence |