t 1 ne

nt d o of oil shale whatever the heating rate in the range 50–900 K min. The combustion of oil shale 1 2 y rocks flow in the porous bed, with strong couplings. Because of these coupled mechanisms, the structure of a combustion front is com-plex and can vary depending on a number of parameters. These problems are still not fully understood. The reader can refer to the pioneering work of Palmer [3], to the review of Ohlemiller [4] or to the recent synthesis of Rein [5] for more details about the so called smoldering phenomena. Put simply, the structure of tion front in a particle bed of OS is a way to recover part of the oil contained in it. The oil recovered can be used as a petroleum-like liquid. Moreover, the flue gas that is produced may prove interesting as a source of energy. The combustion of oil shale can be made in situ or in surface processes after mining. Several studies can be found in the literature of the composition of OS [1,2], [6–8]. The composition of the recovered liquid oil has also been characterized [9–11]. Nevertheless, very few studies have been devoted to the composition of the solid residue after pyrolysis [11]. There is no literature available concerning the flu