Thermal Indices Innovation Active
Thermal indices innovation focuses on the utilization of correlative microscopy and spectroscopy techniques for innovative approaches to advance the understanding of thermal indices development. These techniques include correlative light and electron microscopy (CLEM), confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM), and atomic force microscopy and infrared microscopy (AFM-IR), among others. Use of these instruments can help to differentiate sedimentary organic matter (SOM) types and reveal the spatial evolution of their properties during thermal maturity advancement, allowing for the development and application of innovative instrument tests to measure thermal indices. Thermal indices innovation research has led to pioneering results in organic petrology, including the first applications of AFM-IR, optical photothermal infrared spectroscopy, fluorescence spectroscopy via confocal laser scanning microscopy, integrated correlative light and electron microscopy, and application of cathodoluminescence as a tool to identify organic matter types.
Objectives:
An important control on reservoir permeability and hydrocarbon storage space in shale petroleum systems is an interconnected nano-porosity network. The consensus is that porosity in SOM consequently forms due to increasing thermal maturity and the generation of petroleum from SOM. There are inconsistencies, however, regarding the thermal regime with respect to its preservation in different matrices, its development in different SOM types, and timing of the onset of organic porosity development. The advancement of understanding these inconsistencies requires the ability to differentiate SOM and observe porosity at the nanoscale. Because electron microscopy is unable to differentiate SOM types, CLEM, CLSM, and AFM-IR techniques are used in this research. Prior innovation research focused on these issues yielded pioneering results on hydrocarbon generation and migration fractionation of petroleum, which led to distribution of these advancements at invited international presentations and in an invited synthesis manuscript.
Continuation of these efforts involves three main objectives to advance the understanding of thermal indices development. The first is to use CLEM techniques to document organic porosity development in different thermal regimes and SOM type at a range of scales. Another goal is to better characterize petroleum formation, expulsion, and migration processes at the microscale. The third overarching goal is to continue to innovate applications of correlative microscopy and spectroscopy techniques to characterize physical and chemical properties of SOM across a range of thermal maturities in both naturally and artificially matured sample series.
Listed below are other science projects or tasks associated with this project.
Listed below are data products associated with this project.
Listed below are publications associated with this project.
Fluorescence spectroscopy of ancient sedimentary organic matter via confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM)
Applications of correlative light and electron microscopy (CLEM) to organic matter in the North American shale petroleum systems
A chemo-mechanical snapshot of in-situ conversion of kerogen to petroleum
Nanoscale molecular fractionation of organic matter within unconventional petroleum source beds
Quantitative evaluation of vitrinite reflectance in shale using Raman spectroscopy and multivariate analysis
Understanding organic matter heterogeneity and maturation rate by Raman spectroscopy
Development of Raman spectroscopy as a thermal maturity proxy in unconventional resource assessment
Analysis of artificially matured shales with confocal laser scanning raman microscopy: Applications to organic matter characterization
Nanoscale geochemical and geomechanical characterization of dispersed organic matter in shale by infrared nanoscopy
Organic petrology and micro-spectroscopy of Tasmanites microfossils: Applications to kerogen transformations in the early oil window
Utilization of integrated correlative light and electron microscopy (iCLEM) for imaging sedimentary organic matter
Assessment of thermal maturity trends in Devonian-Mississippian source rocks using Raman spectroscopy: Limitations of peak-fitting method
- Overview
Thermal indices innovation focuses on the utilization of correlative microscopy and spectroscopy techniques for innovative approaches to advance the understanding of thermal indices development. These techniques include correlative light and electron microscopy (CLEM), confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM), and atomic force microscopy and infrared microscopy (AFM-IR), among others. Use of these instruments can help to differentiate sedimentary organic matter (SOM) types and reveal the spatial evolution of their properties during thermal maturity advancement, allowing for the development and application of innovative instrument tests to measure thermal indices. Thermal indices innovation research has led to pioneering results in organic petrology, including the first applications of AFM-IR, optical photothermal infrared spectroscopy, fluorescence spectroscopy via confocal laser scanning microscopy, integrated correlative light and electron microscopy, and application of cathodoluminescence as a tool to identify organic matter types.
Objectives:
An important control on reservoir permeability and hydrocarbon storage space in shale petroleum systems is an interconnected nano-porosity network. The consensus is that porosity in SOM consequently forms due to increasing thermal maturity and the generation of petroleum from SOM. There are inconsistencies, however, regarding the thermal regime with respect to its preservation in different matrices, its development in different SOM types, and timing of the onset of organic porosity development. The advancement of understanding these inconsistencies requires the ability to differentiate SOM and observe porosity at the nanoscale. Because electron microscopy is unable to differentiate SOM types, CLEM, CLSM, and AFM-IR techniques are used in this research. Prior innovation research focused on these issues yielded pioneering results on hydrocarbon generation and migration fractionation of petroleum, which led to distribution of these advancements at invited international presentations and in an invited synthesis manuscript.
Continuation of these efforts involves three main objectives to advance the understanding of thermal indices development. The first is to use CLEM techniques to document organic porosity development in different thermal regimes and SOM type at a range of scales. Another goal is to better characterize petroleum formation, expulsion, and migration processes at the microscale. The third overarching goal is to continue to innovate applications of correlative microscopy and spectroscopy techniques to characterize physical and chemical properties of SOM across a range of thermal maturities in both naturally and artificially matured sample series.
- Science
Listed below are other science projects or tasks associated with this project.
- Data
Listed below are data products associated with this project.
- Publications
Listed below are publications associated with this project.
Filter Total Items: 24Fluorescence spectroscopy of ancient sedimentary organic matter via confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM)
Fluorescence spectroscopy via confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) was used to analyze ancient sedimentary organic matter, including Tasmanites microfossils in Devonian shale and Gloecapsomorpha prisca (G. prisca) in Ordovician kukersite from North American basins. We examined fluorescence emission as a function of excitation laser wavelength, sample orientation, and with respect to locationAuthorsPaul C. Hackley, Aaron M. Jubb, Robert Burruss, Amy E BeavenApplications of correlative light and electron microscopy (CLEM) to organic matter in the North American shale petroleum systems
Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) has revolutionized our understanding of shale petroleum systems through microstructural characterization of dispersed organic matter (OM). However, due to the low atomic weight of carbon, all OM appears black in SEM (BSE image) regardless of differences in thermal maturity or OM type (kerogen types or solid bitumen). Traditional petrographic identification of OMAuthorsBrett J. Valentine, Paul C. HackleyA chemo-mechanical snapshot of in-situ conversion of kerogen to petroleum
Organic matter (OM) from various biogenic origins converts to solid bitumen in-situ when it undergoes thermal maturation. It is well documented that during this process, the ratios of both hydrogen and oxygen to carbon will decrease, resulting in an increase in OM aromaticity and molecular chemo-mechanical homogeneity. Although there have been extensive efforts to reveal molecular alteration occurAuthorsArash Abarghani, Mehdi Ostadhassan, Paul C. Hackley, Andrew E. Pomerantz, Siamak NejatiNanoscale molecular fractionation of organic matter within unconventional petroleum source beds
Fractionation of petroleum during migration through sedimentary rock matrices has been observed across lengths of meters to kilometers. Selective adsorption of specific chemical moieties at mineral surfaces and/or the phase behavior of petroleum during pressure changes typically are invoked to explain this behavior. Such phenomena are of interest as they impact both the quality and recoverabilityAuthorsAaron M. Jubb, Paul C. Hackley, Javin J. Hatcherian, Jing Qu, Timothy O NesheimQuantitative evaluation of vitrinite reflectance in shale using Raman spectroscopy and multivariate analysis
The current research builds upon a previously published study that demonstrated the combination of Raman spectroscopy coupled with multivariate analysis (MVA) for the prediction of thermal maturity in coal by evaluating the efficacy of this method for the prediction of thermal maturity in shale. MVA techniques eliminate analyst bias in peak-fitting methods by using the full Raman spectrum, and theAuthorsJason S. Lupoi, Paul C. Hackley, E. Birsic, Luke P. Fritz, Logan Solotky, Amy Weislogel, Steve SchlaegleUnderstanding organic matter heterogeneity and maturation rate by Raman spectroscopy
Solid organic matter (OM) in sedimentary rocks produces petroleum and solid bitumen when it undergoes thermal maturation. The solid OM is a ‘geomacromolecule’, usually representing a mixture of various organisms with distinct biogenic origins, and can have high heterogeneity in composition. Programmed pyrolysis is a common method to reveal bulk geochemical characteristics of the dominant OM, whileAuthorsSeyedalireza Khatibi, Mehdi Ostadhassan, Paul C. Hackley, David Tuschel, Arash Abarghani, Bailey BubachDevelopment of Raman spectroscopy as a thermal maturity proxy in unconventional resource assessment
The objective of this study was to correlate shale hydrous pyrolysis with thermal maturity measurements based on solid bitumen reflectance (BRo) at the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and Raman microscopy (RM) at WellDog. In semi-blind Phase I, BRo values of the initial set of 8 samples were withheld prior to RM analysis. As reported previously, a strong correlation was observed between BRo and RamaAuthorsGrant A. Myers, Kelsey Kehoe, Paul C. HackleyAnalysis of artificially matured shales with confocal laser scanning raman microscopy: Applications to organic matter characterization
Raman spectroscopy has been suggested as a method for characterizing the thermal maturity of rocks. The literature contains many empirical correlations between thermal maturity proxies, such as vitrinite reflectance (VRo) and pyrolysis-Tmax, with spectral metrics such as Raman peak-widths, peak-center positions, peak-areas and all manner of differences and ratios of these parameters. However, whilAuthorsGrant A. Myers, Kelsey Kehoe, Paul C. HackleyNanoscale geochemical and geomechanical characterization of dispersed organic matter in shale by infrared nanoscopy
Solid organic matter (OM) plays an essential role in the generation, migration, storage, and production of hydrocarbons from economically important shale rock formations. Electron microscopy images have documented spatial heterogeneity in the porosity of OM at nanoscale, and bulk spectroscopy measurements have documented large variation in the chemical composition of OM during petroleum generationAuthorsJin Yang, Javin J. Hatcherian, Paul C. Hackley, Andrew PomerantzOrganic petrology and micro-spectroscopy of Tasmanites microfossils: Applications to kerogen transformations in the early oil window
The transformation of kerogen to hydrocarbons in the early stages of oil generation is critical for understanding the resource potential of liquid-rich shale plays. Organic petrology commonly is used for visual evaluation of type, quality, and thermal maturity of organic matter, but the relationship of visual petrographic changes to chemical transformations is not well characterized. To improve unAuthorsPaul C. Hackley, Clifford C. Walters, S.R. Kelemen, Maria Mastalerz, Heather A. LowersUtilization of integrated correlative light and electron microscopy (iCLEM) for imaging sedimentary organic matter
We report here a new microscopic technique for imaging and identifying sedimentary organic matter in geologic materials that combines inverted fluorescence microscopy with scanning electron microscopy and allows for sequential imaging of the same region of interest without transferring the sample between instruments. This integrated correlative light and electron microscopy technique is demonstratAuthorsPaul C. Hackley, Brett J. Valentine, Leonard M. Voortman, Daan van Oosten Slingeland, Javin J. HatcherianAssessment of thermal maturity trends in Devonian-Mississippian source rocks using Raman spectroscopy: Limitations of peak-fitting method
The thermal maturity of shale is often measured by vitrinite reflectance (VRo). VRo measurements for the Devonian–Mississippian black shale source rocks evaluated herein predicted thermal immaturity in areas where associated reservoir rocks are oil-producing. This limitation of the VRo method led to the current evaluation of Raman spectroscopy as a suitable alternative for developing correlationsAuthorsJason S. Lupoi, Luke P. Fritz, Thomas M. Parris, Paul C. Hackley, Logan Solotky, Cortland F. Eble, Steve Schlaegle