A process for producing carbonaceous matter from tar sand, oil shale and olive cake

Many countries which do not produce oil are rich with other sources of energy that are not fully utilized, such as tar sand, oil shale and olive cake. Limited previous work was done on producing carbonaceous matter and separating volatile matter from combinations of tar sand, oil shale and olive cake. In this study, a process is designed and tested to produce carbonaceous matter from combinations of the three materials mentioned above. Results indicate that the process is successful in producing carbonaceous matter. The minimum temperature to achieve complete carbonization was found to be 500°C for a minimum heating time of 1.5 h. Carbonized materials were tested for their calorific values, which indicated a successful carbonization process. The proposed process can be scaled up and automated, and is expected to be economically feasible. Moreover, the process allows for control of unwanted exiting polluting gases and volatile matter and therefore is environmentally safe.