Solvation of Jordanian Oil Shale Using Different Organic Solvents by Continuous Contact Mixing

Continuous contact mixing was used to examine solvation of organic matter found in Jordanian oil shale. Different types of organic solvents as well as their mixtures were examined under different operating conditions. The solvation of organic matter was found to increase with the increase of mixing time and temperature, and to decrease with the increase of grain size and oil shale/solvent weight ratio. These results explain the role of mass transfer and equilibrium effects on the solvation process. The effect of structure, molecular weight, and polarity of solvents and their mixtures showed nonlinear trends on organic matter solvation. Solvation was enhanced significantly upon using sulfur containing solvents like dimethyl sulfoxide.