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An Insight into Molecular Scale Interactions and In-situ Nanomechanical Properties of Kerogen in Green River Oil Shale
Green River oil shale, located in the western states of Colorado, Utah and Wyoming in the United States, are reported to be among the richest potential source of crude oil in the world. It is estimated that, in the United States, these rocks contain approximately two-trillion barrel equivalent of crude oil, of which about 800 billion barrels are accessible. Due to the relatively young age of these rock, (about 54 million years), the organic phases in these rocks are precursors to crude oil called kerogen. Some of the current pilot-scale techniques that attempt to extract kerogen are through retorting techniques that involve heating the rock to high temperatures. This technique is not commercially viable due to the large energy cost incurred in extracting hydrocarbons, and the emissions associated with the retorting process. An in-depth study to understand how kerogen is "locked" in the shale matrix has been undertaken by the authors. This paper presents the experimental investigation of Green River Oil Shale samples using microscopy, infrared spectroscopy and nanoindentation techniques. Green River oil shale samples were obtained from a depth of approximately 570 feet. Samples were cut from the rock cores for experimental investigation. Photoacoustic Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy tests revealed that the light-colored regions of the rock have more kerogen than the dark regions. In addition, significant influence of molecular interactions with the mineral phase seems to alter the kerogen phase. Electron microscopy studies in combination with EDS revealed that the kerogen- rich phases are much smaller in size than that reported in literature and this will have significant ramifications on the behavior of in-situ kerogen. Extensive nanoindentation tests on the oil shale samples allow for studying the response of the mineral phase and the in-situ kerogen phase.
An Insight into Molecular Scale Interactions and In-situ Nanomechanical Properties of Kerogen in Green River Oil Shale
Green River oil shale, located in the western states of Colorado, Utah and Wyoming in the United States, are reported to be among the richest potential source of crude oil in the world. It is estimated that, in the United States, these rocks contain approximately two-trillion barrel equivalent of crude oil, of which about 800 billion barrels are accessible. Due to the relatively young age of these rock, (about 54 million years), the organic phases in these rocks are precursors to crude oil called kerogen. Some of the current pilot-scale techniques that attempt to extract kerogen are through retorting techniques that involve heating the rock to high temperatures. This technique is not commercially viable due to the large energy cost incurred in extracting hydrocarbons, and the emissions associated with the retorting process. An in-depth study to understand how kerogen is "locked" in the shale matrix has been undertaken by the authors. This paper presents the experimental investigation of Green River Oil Shale samples using microscopy, infrared spectroscopy and nanoindentation techniques. Green River oil shale samples were obtained from a depth of approximately 570 feet. Samples were cut from the rock cores for experimental investigation. Photoacoustic Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy tests revealed that the light-colored regions of the rock have more kerogen than the dark regions. In addition, significant influence of molecular interactions with the mineral phase seems to alter the kerogen phase. Electron microscopy studies in combination with EDS revealed that the kerogen- rich phases are much smaller in size than that reported in literature and this will have significant ramifications on the behavior of in-situ kerogen. Extensive nanoindentation tests on the oil shale samples allow for studying the response of the mineral phase and the in-situ kerogen phase.
An Insight into Molecular Scale Interactions and In-situ Nanomechanical Properties of Kerogen in Green River Oil Shale
Katti, Dinesh R. (author) / Katti, Kalpana S. (author) / Alstadt, Kristin (author)
Fifth Biot Conference on Poromechanics ; 2013 ; Vienna, Austria
Poromechanics V ; 2510-2516
2013-06-18
Conference paper
Electronic Resource
English
Wave propagation , Nanotechnology , Shale , Poroelasticity , Gas , Mechanics , Simulation , Porous media , Utah , Colorado , Porosity , Wyoming
The granular and polymer composite nature of kerogen-rich shale
| Springer Verlag | 2016
The granular and polymer composite nature of kerogen-rich shale
| British Library Online Contents | 2016
The granular and polymer composite nature of kerogen-rich shale
| Springer Verlag | 2016
The granular and polymer composite nature of kerogen-rich shale
| Online Contents | 2016