"The development of analytical procedures for tar sand samples was essentially completed. As a result, plans have been formulated to receive and analyze cores obtained by the Utah Geological and Mineralogical Survey under a $77,200 grant from the Bureau of Mines, Office of Mineral Supply. This work will provide for the evaluation of five tar sand deposits in the Uinta Basin in Utah. Development of a technique for characterizing the compounds that make up the acids in petroleum was completed with the classification of phenols and carbazoles according to type of ring system. The technique will be applied to several additional oils to prove that it has general applicability. A new concept of the physical-chemical nature of asphalt was developed through micro calorimetric studies of asphalt-aggregate and asphalt-asphalt interactions. Many asphalt properties, particularly viscosity and adhesivity, must be related to these interactions, so control or manipulation of these important properties would be facilitated by better understanding of the interactions. Mild oxidation removed about one-half of the nitrogen in shale-oil naphtha with the loss of only a small volume of naphtha. Hence, the method has potential for improving the naphtha as a feed stock for further processing. However, application of the technique to additional naphtha will be necessary in order to estimate its effectiveness. Applications of nuclear magnetic resonance to the definition of oil and mineral potentials of Green River Formation oil shales were discussed at a regional spectroscopy conference. Utilization of NMR for assaying oil shales will be delayed because of damage to the magnet during delivery of a new NMR spectrometer. Oil-shale sample acquisitions were enhanced by drilling associated with Interior’s proposed oil-shale leasing program. Three cores from Colorado, one from Utah, and one from Wyoming were assayed. Completion of the first series of runs on the 150-ton retort to study the effects of oxygen content and superficial space velocity on oil yield indicated that optimum conditions for these variables might lie outside the limits chosen for the series. Hence, a run outside the conditions of the original pattern was completed during the quarter with the hope of raising substantially the oil yield. A series of runs attempting to utilize electro oxidation for the removal of the organic materials in retort waters indicated that this technique does not appear to be suitable for the purpose."