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At what temperatures is oil shale heated during aboveground pyrolysis?
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oil shale
Kuskerite (oil shale) outcrop that dates to the Ordovician Period, northern Estonia.
During aboveground (ex situ) pyrolysis, oil shale is heated in retorts—vessels designed to facilitate rapid heating in an oxygen-free environment. Under these conditions, the pyrolytic reactions occur at temperatures ranging from 480 to 550 °C (900 to 1,020 °F).1