ELECTRON MICROSCOPY ANALYSIS OF SEMI-COKE FROM THE MICROWAVE PYROLYSIS OF OIL SHALE WITH ITS FRACTAL DESCRIPTION

This paper discusses the potential use of microwave technology as an energy-efficient alternative to current heating technologies employed for treatment of Jilin Huadian oil shale and analyzes the surface pore structure of its semi-coke particle by a scanning electron microscope (SEM). The fractal theory was introduced into Scanning Electron Microscopy image analysis, and the particle surface fractal dimension (D) was used to describe quantitatively the surface character of oil shale/semi-coke particles. The SEM image was transformed into fractal one and the fractal dimensions were figured out with the box-counting approach. According to adsorption isotherm data, FHH model approach was also used to calculate the surface fractal dimension. Then, the box-counting approach was corroborated by using FHH model approach. It means that the fractal pore structure characteristics of samples could be described by a box-counting approach. Meanwhile, the results also showed that the microwave pyrolysis technology had a notable impact on the pore structure of samples.