Apparatus for the recovery of oil and gaseous products from shale

Claim 1

IN APPARATUS FOR THE RECOVERY OF OIL FROM SHALE, A RETORTING TOWER HAVING A HOPPER SPACE AT ITS TOP INTO WHICH RAW SHALE IS INTRODUCED PERIODICALLY, A PARTITION AT THE BOTTOM OF THE HOPPER SPACE HAVING OPENINGS, SEAL LEGS CONNECTED WITH SAID OPENING AND IN COMMUNICATION WITH THE TOWER SPACE BELOW SAID PARTITION AND THROUGH WHICH RAW SHALE MAY MOVE DOWNWARDLY CONTINUOUSLY FROM THE HOPPER SPACE, SHALE DISTRIBUTING GRATES POSITIONED AT DIFFERENT LEVELS BELOW SAID PARTITION, A GAS DISTRIBUTOR BELOW SAID GRATES, A HOPPER-LIKE PARTITION EXTENDING TRANSVERSELY OF SAID TOWER BELOW THE GAS DISTRIBUTOR AND WITH THE FIRSTNAMED PARTITION DEFINING A PREHEATING AND DRYING SECTION IN SAID TOWER, SAID HOPPER-LIKE PARTITION HAVING OPENINGS, SEAL LEGS CONNECTED WITH SAID OPENINGS AND PROVIDING PASSAGE FOR DOWNWARD MOVEMENT OF SHALE FROM THE PREHEATING AND DRYING SECTION, SAHEL DISTRIBUTING GRATES POSITIONED AT DIFFERENT LEVELS BELOW SAID LAST-NAMED DISTRIBUTING GAS COLLECTING GATES BELOW THE LAST-NAMED DISTRIBUTING GRATES, SAID GAS COLLECTING GRATES DEFINING THE LOWER BOUNDARY OF A RETORTING ZONE IN SAID LOWER WHOSE UPPER BOUNDARY IS THE HOPPER-LIKE PARTITION, GAS WITHDRAWAL PIPES POSITIONED BELOW THE GAS COLLECTING GRATES, SHALE DISTRIBUTING MEANS POSITIONED BETWEEN VARIOUS OF THE LASTNAMED GRATES, AIR INTRODUCING MEANS BELOW THE GAS DISTRIBUTING MEANS AND DEFINING THE LOWER BOUNDARY OF A COMBUSTION ZONE WHOSE UPPER BOUNDARY LIES SUBSTANTIALLY AT THE LEVEL OF SAID PIPES, BURNT SHALE DISCHARGE MEANS BELOW SAID AIR INTRODUCING MEANS, MEANS FOR WITHDRAWING EFFLUENT GASES FROM THE TOWER ADJACENT THE UPPER BOUNDARY OF THE RETORTING ZONE, MEANS FOR WITHDRAWING SPENT GASES FROM THE DRYING AND PREHEATING SECTION, MEANS FOR WITHDRAWING GASEOUS PRODUCTS OF COMBUSTION THROUGH SAID PIPES AND MEANS FOR RECYCLING BOTH SPENT GASES WITHDRAWN FROM THE PREHEATING AND DRYING SECTION AND GASEOUS PRODUCTS OF COMBUSTION WITHDRAWN THROUGH SAID PIPES TO THE COMBUSTION ZONE.