The role of minerals in the thermal alteration of organic matter--IV. Generation of n -alkanes, acyclic isoprenoids, and alkenes in laboratory experiments

A series of pyrolysis experiments, utilizing two different immature oil-prone kerogens ("type I": Green River Formation kerogen; "type II": Monterey Formation kerogen) mixed with common sedimentary minerals (calcite, illite, or Na-montmorillonite), was conducted to study the effects of minerals on the generation of n-alkanes, acyclic isoprenoids, and alkenes during laboratory-simulated catagenesis of kerogen. The influence of clay minerals on the aliphatic hydrocarbons is critically dependent on the water concentration during laboratory thermal maturation. Under extremely low contents of water ( i.e., dry pyrolysis, where only pyrolysate water is present), C ₁₂₊-range n-alkanes and acyclic isoprenoids are mostly destroyed by montmorillonite but undergo only minor alteration with illite. Both clay minerals significantly reduce alkene formation during dry pyrolysis. Under hydrous conditions ( mineral/water = 2:1 ), the effects of the clay minerals are substantially reduced. In addition, the dry-pyrolysis experiments show that illite and montmorillonite preferentially retain large amounts of the polar constituents of bitumen, but not n-alkanes or acyclic isoprenoids. Therefore, bitumen fractionation according to polarity differences occurs in the presence of these clay minerals. By this process, n-alkanes and acyclic isoprenoids are concentrated in the bitumen fraction that is not strongly adsorbed on the clay matrices. The extent of these concentration effects is greatly diminished during hydrous pyrolysis. In contrast, calcite has no significant influence on the thermal evolution of the hydrocarbons. In addition, calcite is incapable of retaining bitumen. Therefore, the fractionation of n-alkanes or acyclic isoprenoids relative to the polar constituents of bitumen is insignificant in the presence of calcite.