Jordan University of Science and Technology
Physical and thermal properties of Jordanian tar sand
Authors:
Awni Al-Otoom, Mohammad Al-Harahsheh, Mamdouh Allawzi , Sam Kingman, John Robinson, Adnan Al-Harahsheh, Abdurrahman Saeid
Abstract:
A preliminary characterization and beneficiation study of Jordanian tar sand obtained from the Dead Sea area
has been carried out. Representative tar sand samples were crushed using a jaw crusher and sieved to different
size fractions. Characterization of these size fractions revealed that most of the bitumen content was concentrated
in the smallest size fraction (b106 ?m). Scanning electron microscopy images showed that the
structure of the tar sand is composed of quartz particles of b1 mm in size surrounded by a bitumen
containing envelope which can be regarded as a binder. The pyrolysis kinetics of the material was studied
using thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and the relationship with heating rate was derived. The mass loss
obtained from TGA was found to be independent of the heating rate at 35% of the original mass. Three regions
of differing kinetic parameters were identified during pyrolysis; a low temperature pyrolysis region, a fuel
deposition region and a high temperature pyrolysis region. It was found that the activation energy, in the
region of fuel deposition, changes from 32 kJ/mol to 42 kJ/mol by increasing the heating rate from 1 ?C/min
to 50 ?C/min, respectively.