Assignment

Of

Composition and different fractions. Transformation of organic matter

into kerogen , organic maturation, thermal cracking of kerogen
Submitted in partial fulfilment of

The degree of Master of Science

In Geology

By

Patel Karnav M.

Semester- M.Sc. IV

Roll No. – 7

Paper GEL 510

Under the supervision of

DR. N. Y. BHATT

Geology Department

M.G. Science Institute

Affiliated to Gujarat University

Navarangpura, Ahmedabad-380009

Gujarat, India.
INTRODUCTION:

Petroleum, oily, flammable liquid that occurs naturally in deposits, usually beneath the
surface of the earth; it is also called crude oil. It consists principally of a mixture of
hydrocarbons, with traces of various nitrogenous and sulfurous compounds.

COMPOSITION AND DIFFERENT FRACTIONS:

The physical properties and exact chemical composition of crude oil varies from one
locality to another. The different hydrocarbon components of petroleum are dissolved
natural gas , gasoline, benzine , naphtha , kerosene , diesel fuel and light heating oils,
heavy heating oils, and finally tars of various weights (see tar and pitch ). The crude oil
is usually sent from a well to a refinery in pipelines (see under pipe ) or tanker ships.

The hydrocarbon components are separated from each other by various refining
processes. In a process called fractional distillation petroleum is heated and sent into a
tower. The vapors of the different components condense on collectors at different
heights in the tower. The separated fractions are then drawn from the collectors and
further processed into various petroleum products. One of the many products of crude
oil is a light substance with little color that is rich in gasoline . Another is a black tarry
substance that is rich in asphalt .

As the lighter fractions, especially gasoline, are in the greatest demand, so-called
cracking processes have been developed in which heat, pressure, and certain catalysts
are used to break up the large molecules of heavy hydrocarbons into small molecules of
light hydrocarbons. Some of the heavier fractions find eventual use as lubricating oils,
paraffins , and highly refined medicinal substances such as petrolatum .
FRACTIONS OF PETROLEUM AND THEIR USES:

Molecular
Name Characteristics Uses
formula
For making roads
Black sticky semi
Damp proofing
solid, which is a
foundations of buildings.
C30H62- mixture of
Asphalt Coating the
C60H122 hydrocarbons.
underside of
Non volatile
electric poles.
White semi solids
For making Vaseline
containing a
ointments, candles, wax
C20H42- mixture of
Paraffin wax paper, match sticks,
C30H62 hydrocarbons like
creams, cosmetics, etc.
wax, grease,
Used as grease.
Vaseline.
A thick viscous
C17H36- Used for lubricating
Lubricating oil liquid- a mixture
C20H42 machines.
of hydrocarbons.
Used to run heavy
vehicles like buses,
Mixture of
trucks, tractors.
C13H28- hydrocarbons with
Fuel oil Used to run engines for
C15H22 varying boiling
lifting water for fields.
points.
Used to run generators
for providing electricity.
A mixture of Used as household fuels
C10H22- hydrocarbons in wick, pressure stoves.
Kerosene Oil
C12H26 having variable Illuminant in lanterns,
boiling points. petromax lamps etc.
Used as fuel for light
vehicles like scooters,
Mixture of
cars etc
C5H12- hydrocarbons
Gasoline/petrol Used as a dry cleaning
C9H20 having variable
fluid.
boiling points.
Used for petrol gas
commonly used in labs.
Mixture of Petrol gas is liquefied
hydrocarbons under pressure and
CH4- marketed in steel
Petroleum gas having boiling
C4H10 cylinders.
points lower than
40 deg C. This is commonly called
 LPG and

used as a household fuel.

Used in the manufacture
of petrol polymerization.
Cracked to
form carbon-
used in tire
industry and
hydrogen –
used in
manufacture of
nitrogenous
fertilizers.

ORGANIC MATURATION:

In petroleum geology, the maturity of a rock is a measure of its state in terms of

hydrocarbon generation. Maturity is established using a combination of geochemical and
basin modelling techniques.

Rocks with high total organic carbon, (termed source rocks), will alter under increasing
temperature such that the organic molecules slowly mature into hydrocarbons (see
diagenesis). Source rocks are therefore broadly categorised as immature (no hydrocarbon
generation), sub-mature (limited hydrocarbon generation), mature (extensive hydrocarbon
generation) and overmature (most hydrocarbons have been generated).

The maturity of a source rock can also be used as an indicator of its hydrocarbon
potential. That is, if a rock is sub-mature, then it has a much higher potential to generate
further hydrocarbons than one that is overmature.

DIAGENESIS:

This occurs at shallow surfaces and begins during initial deposition. It normally takes
place from a shallow depth to 1,000 m and the temperature range is less than 60 C (140
F). Non-biogenic reaction and biogenic decay aided by bacteria turns organic matter to
Methane (CH4), Carbon Dioxide (CO2), water (H2O) and Kerogen. Kerogen is a
precursor to the creation of petroleum. Types of kerogen depend on the original type of
organic matter.
KEROGEN CHEMISTRY:

Chemical components of kerogen consist of hydrogen, carbon and oxygen with a trace of
nitrogen and sulphur. Three types of kerogen which are categorized by depositional
environment are as follows;

Type 1 – Fine algae in fresh water lake: Type1 has the highest H:C ratio and it tends to be
oil with a low amount of gas.

Type 2 – Single cell plankton, algae and bacteria in marine environment: Type 2 has a
moderate H:C ration about 1.4 and this is the main type of organic matter. This type tends
to have a mixture between oil and gas.

Type 3 – Organic material from swamp area: The organic material comes from land
plants, spores and pollen. It has H:C ratio of less than 1.0 and this will be mostly dry gas.

TRANSFORMATION OF ORGANICS INTO KEROGEN:

Organic materials from dead plants and animals are either consumed by living organisms
or left to be decomposed by bacteria. If the organic material remains in an oxygen-rich,
aerobic environment, aerobic bacteria will decompose it to carbon dioxide and water. If
the environment is anaerobic, the products of decomposition will be essentially
compounds of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. The hydrocarbons of crude oils can
originate from the fundamental biological molecules: proteins (amino acids), lipids (fats,
waxes, and oils), carbohydrates (sugars and starches), and lignins (polymeric
hydrocarbons related to cellulose) of plants. If these are preserved in a low-energy
environment free of oxygen, they can be mixed with the clays and precipitates that are
forming the fine-grained sediments characteristic of the lowenergy transgressive phase of
basin formation.

Therefore, to be preserved, this organic matter must be buried as it is supplied with fine-
grained sediments. The source rocks of petroleum are, therefore, those rocks formed from
fine-grained sediments mixed with organic materials. Not all fine grained sediments are
source rocks for petroleum, which implies that a necessary criterion is the availability of
abundant organic matter in an area of fine grained deposition. This implies a sedimentary
basin along a gentle continental slope and the presence of aquatic life (plankton, algae,
etc.), in addition to copious terrestrial plant life. Land vertebrates are not a very likely
source for organic matter in shallow marine sediments. Higher-order land plants contain
abundant quantities of cellulose and lignin, yielding aromatic-type compounds with a low
hydrogen-to-carbon ratio (1.0-1.5). Marine algae contain proteins, lipids and
carbohydrates; these are aliphatic in character with a high hydrogen-to-carbon ratio of
1.7-1.9. (The hydrogen-to-carbon ratios of specific compounds are: benzene-1.0,
cyclohexane-2.0, and n-pentane-2.4.) The organic materials, fine-grained sediments, and
bacteria that are mixed together and deposited in the quiet, low-energy environments are
not in thermodynamic equilibrium.

The system approaches thermodynamic equilibrium during initial burial while it is

undergoing diagenetic transformations. Inasmuch as burial is shallow during this stage,
the temperature of the environment is low, and the sediment undergoes diagenetic
changes slowly under mild conditions. The first 10 feet or so of sediment represents an
interface where the biosphere passes into the geosphere. The residence time in this
shallow sediment, before deeper burial, may range from 1,000 to 10,000 years. During
this time, the organic matter is subjected to both microbial and chemical action that
transforms it from the biopolymers (proteins, etc.) to more stable polycondensed
compounds that are the precursors of kerogen. In time the sediments are buried deeper,
where the anaerobic environment prevails and where the organicmatter continues to
transform to more insoluble high-molecular-weight polymers due principally to the
increase of pore fluid pressure and temperature. Anaerobic bacteria reduce sulfates to
hydrogen sulfide and may remove oxygen from some low molecular-weight organic
compounds, but otherwise they add to the total biomass rather than depleting it, which
occurs in the aerobic regions. Some organically produced compounds of calcium and
silica dissolve in the water and later are precipitated with the mixture of clay minerals and
organics as they reach saturation in the aqueous layer.

The organic matter is gradually transformed into new polymeric organic compounds that
eventually become kerogen. Considerable methane is formed and released—mixed with
hydrogen sulfide—as marsh gas. Low-molecular-weight water-soluble compounds
formed during diagenesis probably are lost to the interstitial water percolating upward,
leaving behind a solid organic mass compacted into fine kerogen particles.

TRANSFORMATIO TRANSFORMATION OF KEROGEN INTO OIL AND GAS:

Consecutive deposition of sediments in the basin leads to deeper burial reachingseveral

thousand feet deep, which imposes an increase of temperature and pressure onthe kerogen
mixed with the fine-grained sediments. The increase of temperature withburial places the
materials once more out of thermodynamic equilibrium, which induces further reactions
and transformations (catagenetic stage). During catagenesis, the reactions are catalyzed to
some extent by the inorganic matrix. While the organic material is undergoing major
transformations, the sediments are being compacted with expulsion of water and decrease
of porosity and permeability. The kerogen evolves through a liquid bitumen to liquid
petroleum.

If the petroleum remains in the compacted source rock undergoing deeper burial with
continued heating, the kerogen is ultimately reduced to graphite and methane.
The thermodynamic stability of the organic matter is never reached because of the gradual
increase in temperature as burial proceeds. Chilingarian and Yen describe the approximate
depths for the various diagenetic and catagenetic changes: 10-20 feet is the zone of
change to humic materials; 20-1,500 feet is where the diagenetic change take place;
1,500-6,000 feet is the zone of catagenetic changes and formation of oil from kerogen;
and below 6,000 feet there is a zone of metagenesis where petroleum changes to graphite
and methane.

The formation of petroleum

Step 1: Diagenesis forms Kerogen

Diagenesis is a process of compaction under mild conditions of temperature and pressure.

When organic aquatic sediments (proteins, lipids, carbohydrates) are deposited, they are
very saturated with water and rich in minerals. Through chemical reaction, compaction,
and microbial action during burial, water is forced out and proteins and carbohydrates
break down to form new structures that comprise a waxy material known as “kerogen”
and a black tar like substance called “bitumen”. All of this occurs within the first several
hundred meters of burial.

The bitumen comprises the heaviest components of petroleum, but the kerogen will
undergo further change to make hydrocarbons and, yes, more bitumen…

Step 2: Catagenesis (or “cracking”) turns kerogen into petroleum and natural gas

As temperatures and pressures increase (deeper burial) the process of catagenesis begins,
which is the thermal degradation of kerogen to form hydrocarbon chains. Importantly, the
process of catagenesis is catalyzed by the minerals that are deposited and persist through
marine diagenesis. The conditions of catagenesis determine the product, such that higher
temperature and pressure lead to more complete “cracking” of the kerogen and
progressively lighter and smaller hydrocarbons. Petroleum formation, then, requires a
specific window of conditions; too hot and the product will favor natural gas (small
hydrocarbons), but too cold and the plankton will remain trapped as kerogen.

This behavior is contrary to what is associated with coal formation. In the case of
terrestrial burial, the organic sediment is dominated by cellulose and lignin and the
fraction of minerals is much smaller. Here, decomposition of the organic matter is
restricted in a different way. The organic matter is condensed to form peat and, if enough
temperature (geothermal energy) and pressure is supplied, it will condense and undergo
catagenesis to form coal. Higher temperatures and pressures, in general, lead to higher
ranks of coal. See the COAL page for more information.

METAGENESIS OF ORGANIC MATTER:

 The last stage of the evolution of sediments with is known as metamorphism and is
reached in deep troughs and in geosynclinals zones.
 Petroleum geology is only concerned with this stage as metagenesis of organic matter.
Minerals are transformed under those conditions and lose their interlayer water and
gain a higher stage of crystalline:
 (Iron oxide with water ----------- Iron oxide without water)
(Goethite) (Hematite)

 The rock reaches temperature conditions that leads to the metagenesis of organic
matter, (organic matter is composed only of methane and a carbon residue)
 Temperature range (200-300)0 c.

REFRENCES:

 https://www.nap.edu/read/314/chapter/4.

 http://www.petroleum.co.uk/formation.

 Petroleum Formation and Occurrence by Bernard P. TissotDietrich H. Welte.