Hydrous Pyrolysis and Kerogen Conversion
Hydrous pyrolysis (HP) experimentation is a laboratory method used to thermally mature organic-rich sedimentary rocks. It simulates petroleum generation in the closest available analogue to that of a natural system. Artificial maturation of sedimentary organic matter (SOM) to petroleum allows for the examination of its molecular chemistry to address the issue of anomalous reflection measurement and further decipher the petroleum generation process. Investigation of these topics is broadly applicable to the assessment of undiscovered oil and gas resources process and to improving the understanding of the geologic history in petroleum systems and basin analysis worldwide.
Objectives:
The compositional diversity and complexity of SOM prevents the use of one simple kinetic and mechanical model of its conversion to petroleum. Predictive models of petroleum generation therefore rely on evidence from individual case studies to use as an analogue to document the compositional and physical evolution of different SOM types during thermal maturation. Because a variety of factors influence SOM conversion to petroleum, models using case study analogue data may not fully capture the processes involved in petroleum generation. For example, the organic maceral vitrinite undergoes an increase in reflectance of incident light with increasing thermal maturity. In some cases, however, vitrinite reflectance is suppressed relative to expected values. These suppressed values cause difficulties determining the burial history of source rocks and the subsequent timing and extent of petroleum generation.
One objective of this research is to determine the maturation kinetics, as expressed through organic reflectance, of SOM through HP experimentation. The results from this research may be used to reduce uncertainties in burial history modeling and petroleum resource assessments. Another objective is to characterize the in situ physical and chemical transformation of SOM to petroleum under different conditions (such as time or temperature) and in different environments (such as hydrous, anhydrous, or brine) using spectroscopy techniques. The goal of this effort is to improve understanding of the effects that the starting materials and microenvironment have on the chemical parameters of petroleum generation.
Listed below are other science projects or tasks associated with this project.
Petrographic Thermal Indices Research
Vitrinite Reflectance Service
Thermal Indices Innovation
Standardization of Petrographic Thermal Indices
Listed below are data products associated with this project.
Evaluation of solid bitumen created from marine oil shale bituminite under hydrous and anhydrous pyrolysis conditions
Textural occurrence and organic porosity of solid bitumen in shales
TOC, Reflectance and Raman Data from Eocene Green River Mahogany Zone
Solid bitumen and vitrinite reflectance suppression explored using hydrous pyrolysis of artificial source rock (2021)
Reflectance, Raman band separation and Mean multivariant curve resolution (MCR) in organic matter in Boquillas Shale
Petroleum geology data from hydrous and anhydrous pyrolysis residues for coals and shales from the Cambrian through the Miocene (ver. 2.0, January 2023)
Listed below are publications associated with this project.
Reply to Comment by M.D. Lewan
Relating systematic compositional variability to the textural occurrence of solid bitumen in shales
Maturation study of vitrinite in carbonaceous shales and coals: Insights from hydrous pyrolysis
Evaluating aromatization of solid bitumen generated in the presence and absence of water: Implications for solid bitumen reflectance as a thermal proxy
Molecular mechanisms of solid bitumen and vitrinite reflectance suppression explored using hydrous pyrolysis of artificial source rock
Hydrous pyrolysis of New Albany Shale: A study examining maturation changes and porosity development
Compositional evolution of organic matter in Boquillas Shale across a thermal gradient at the single particle level
Relating Tmax and hydrogen index to vitrinite and solid bitumen reflectance in hydrous pyrolysis residues: Comparisons to natural thermal indices
An integrated geochemical, spectroscopic, and petrographic approach to examining the producibility of hydrocarbons from liquids-rich unconventional formations
Experimental study on the impact of thermal maturity on shale microstructures using hydrous pyrolysis
Application of Raman spectroscopy as thermal maturity probe in shale petroleum systems: Insights from natural and artificial maturation series
Suppression of vitrinite reflectance by bitumen generated from liptinite during hydrous pyrolysis of artificial source rock
Hydrous pyrolysis (HP) experimentation is a laboratory method used to thermally mature organic-rich sedimentary rocks. It simulates petroleum generation in the closest available analogue to that of a natural system. Artificial maturation of sedimentary organic matter (SOM) to petroleum allows for the examination of its molecular chemistry to address the issue of anomalous reflection measurement and further decipher the petroleum generation process. Investigation of these topics is broadly applicable to the assessment of undiscovered oil and gas resources process and to improving the understanding of the geologic history in petroleum systems and basin analysis worldwide.
Objectives:
The compositional diversity and complexity of SOM prevents the use of one simple kinetic and mechanical model of its conversion to petroleum. Predictive models of petroleum generation therefore rely on evidence from individual case studies to use as an analogue to document the compositional and physical evolution of different SOM types during thermal maturation. Because a variety of factors influence SOM conversion to petroleum, models using case study analogue data may not fully capture the processes involved in petroleum generation. For example, the organic maceral vitrinite undergoes an increase in reflectance of incident light with increasing thermal maturity. In some cases, however, vitrinite reflectance is suppressed relative to expected values. These suppressed values cause difficulties determining the burial history of source rocks and the subsequent timing and extent of petroleum generation.
One objective of this research is to determine the maturation kinetics, as expressed through organic reflectance, of SOM through HP experimentation. The results from this research may be used to reduce uncertainties in burial history modeling and petroleum resource assessments. Another objective is to characterize the in situ physical and chemical transformation of SOM to petroleum under different conditions (such as time or temperature) and in different environments (such as hydrous, anhydrous, or brine) using spectroscopy techniques. The goal of this effort is to improve understanding of the effects that the starting materials and microenvironment have on the chemical parameters of petroleum generation.
Listed below are other science projects or tasks associated with this project.
Petrographic Thermal Indices Research
Vitrinite Reflectance Service
Thermal Indices Innovation
Standardization of Petrographic Thermal Indices
Listed below are data products associated with this project.
Evaluation of solid bitumen created from marine oil shale bituminite under hydrous and anhydrous pyrolysis conditions
Textural occurrence and organic porosity of solid bitumen in shales
TOC, Reflectance and Raman Data from Eocene Green River Mahogany Zone
Solid bitumen and vitrinite reflectance suppression explored using hydrous pyrolysis of artificial source rock (2021)
Reflectance, Raman band separation and Mean multivariant curve resolution (MCR) in organic matter in Boquillas Shale
Petroleum geology data from hydrous and anhydrous pyrolysis residues for coals and shales from the Cambrian through the Miocene (ver. 2.0, January 2023)
Listed below are publications associated with this project.