Direct Correlation Between Aromatization of Kerogen in Organic Shales during Maturation and Its Visible Absorption Edge

Abstract:

The evolution of the electronic visible-range optical absorption edge of isolated kerogens type 1, 2 (from organic shales) and 3 is characterized by diffuse reflectance UV-Visible absorption spectroscopy. The functional form of the electronic absorption edge for all kerogens measured is in excellent agreement with the "Urbach tail" phenomenology. The Urbach decay width extracted from the exponential fit within the visible range is strongly correlated with the aliphatic/aromatic ratio in isolated kerogen, regardless of the kerogen type. The direct correlation is confirmed by density functional theory calculations on proxy ensemble models of kerogen. The correlation of the decay width with conventional maturity indicators such as vitrinite reflectance is found to be good within a particular kerogen type, but not consistent across different kerogen types. This is explained in terms of the evolution of the population of aromatic constituents in kerogen, which is instead directly measured through the Urbach decay. The optical absorption edge and the Urbach decay width are therefore presented as excellent candidates for the evaluation of thermal maturity in kerogen.