In 1694 the British Crown issued Patent Number 330 to Martin Eele and his colleagues who reported to have found a way to extract and make great quantities of pitch, tar and oil out of a “sort of stone”. This is the first veri- fied report of oil products derived from oil shale. In the March 1874 issue of Scientific Americun, there was a news item that during the construction of a railroad in the Green River region, workmen piled together a few pieces of excavated rock as protection from a dinner fire and soon observed the stone itself ignited. This marked the first discovery of oil shale in North America, the tri-state area of Colorado, Utah and Wyoming, which has one of the most abundant single deposits of organic-rich shale. By the
1920’s, the develop- ment of oil shale was considerable, especially in the United States. Actually, a journal was published entitled The Shale Review to establish communica- tion between different areas of oil-shale technology. In the interim years, there were ups and downs for the actual development of oil shale for practi- cal uses. Although a progress was made in several locations of the world in commercial utilization of oil shales, a full development of this industry wasnot achieved.
1920’s, the develop- ment of oil shale was considerable, especially in the United States. Actually, a journal was published entitled The Shale Review to establish communica- tion between different areas of oil-shale technology. In the interim years, there were ups and downs for the actual development of oil shale for practi- cal uses. Although a progress was made in several locations of the world in commercial utilization of oil shales, a full development of this industry wasnot achieved.
Up to this time, thousands of patents have been issued on the theme of retorting of oil shale. There is, however, very little basic knowledge of oil- shale science and technology available, especially in a complete text and monograph form. Therefore, we undertook the responsibility of inviting a group of internationally known oil-shale experts to furnish background information on different aspects of oil-shale science and technology. The coverage ranges from origin, distribution, mineralogy, and chemistry to the exploration, engineering and environmental considerations of this important energy source, oil shale. The purpose of the present endeavor is to stimulate further growth of the maturing oil-shale industry. It can be stated that with- out the fundamental knowledge of oil-shale science and technology, the technological growth will be retarded.
We take this opportunity to thank the contributors for their patience in developing this book. We also express our thanks to the publishers for their farsight and cooperation.
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