A solid state 13C-NMR study of kerogen degradation during black shale weathering

Abstract

Solid state ¹³C nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy is used to examine kerogen composition in weathering profiles of the Monterey, Green River, Woodford, and New Albany formations. Techniques include cross polarization (CP) and Bloch decay (BD) spectral acquisition, dipolar dephasing (DD), spin counting, experiments to provide estimates of relaxation times (T₁ρH and T₁H), and proton spin relaxation editing (PSRE). It is demonstrated that CP/MAS (cross polarization/magic angle spinning) spectra obtained on isolated kerogens provide reliable characterization of kerogen composition (compared with BD spectra and whole-rock samples). Highly aliphatic (polymethylenic) kerogens are not appreciably altered during weathering. Aromatic and/or branched aliphatic kerogens accumulate oxidation products and preferentially lose aliphatic relative to aromatic carbon during weathering. No relation is observed between T₁ρH times and either kerogen composition or degree of weathering; T₁H times correlate with aromaticity. Two distinct components within kerogens are discerned by PSRE: one highly aliphatic (largely polymethylenic) component and one mixed aliphatic/aromatic component. During weathering, the highly aliphatic component remains largely unaltered, while the mixed component loses aliphatic carbon and accumulates carbonyl oxidation products. Thus it appears that kerogen weathering is dominated by two separate processes: Linear alkyl fragments are cleaved without oxidation, and aromatic/branched alkyl fragments are oxidized while attached to the kerogen macromolecule and then cleaved.