Experimental research on the performances of water jet devices and proposing the parameters of borehole hydraulic mining for oil shale

Oil shale is an unconventional energy source, and it is also a potential petroleum substitute. Nowadays, the energy shortage is becoming more and more prominent, oil shale has attracted the attention of energy researchers all over the world. Borehole hydraulic mining is an effective method to exploit the underground oil shale which has more prominent advantages than other conventional mining methods. Jet devices are the key component of borehole hydraulic mining, which include the straight cone nozzle, organ pipe nozzle and self-excited oscillation pulsed jet nozzle. Also, the reasonable mining parameters are also crucial in mining underground oil shale efficiency. The jet characteristics of the non-submerged water jet, submerged water jet, direct water jet, cavitating water jet, and pulsed water jet are also explained and compared based on theoretical analysis. The jet performance of the non-submerged water jet is better than the submerged water jet. Each type of jet devices has its own basic principles and optimal structural parameters. The best operating scheme of borehole hydraulic mining for underground oil shale is to use the pulsed water jet which is produced by the self-excited oscillation pulsed jet nozzle to break underground oil shale under the non-submerged condition. Moreover, the pulsed water jet should be placed parallel to the oil shale bedding. In addition, under the preconditions of ensuring the safety and reliability of the hydraulic mining equipment and pipelines connection, the jet pressure and jet flow should be raised as much as possible, so as to obtain the much higher mining efficiency. These results and conclusions can provide very valuable guidance for borehole hydraulic mining of underground oil shale.