ТЕРМОДИНАМІКА ТРАНСФОРМАЦІЇ КЕРОГЕНУ ІІ ТИПУ

Abstract

The article reviews the chemical structure of type II kerogen. The changes that occur with the structure of type II kerogen as it passes through the stages of catagenesis from immature to post-mature are evaluated. Structural models of type II kerogen at different stages of catagenesis are presented: both obtained empirically after studying the structure by physical and chemical methods and the results of modelling by molecular dynamics method. Methods of equilibrium thermodynamics are used to calculate the composition of the kerogen–gas system for crust sections in the range of 1–20 km with a heat flux of 40 to 100 mW/m2. The composition of kerogen/fluid geochemical system is calculated using the E. T. Jaynes formalism. It boils down to determining the optimal distribution of 5 elements (C, H, O, N, S) among the 44 additive constituents of the solid phase (i. e., type II kerogen) and other individual components that are included in the system (CO2, H2O, H2S, NH3, CH4, C2H6, C3H8, i-C4H10, n-C4H10, i-C5H12, neo-C5H12, n-C5H12). Comparison with the experiments showed that the results of the calculations do not contradict the experiments, with study the structure and changes in type II kerogen with increasing degree of catagenesis. In the analysis of changes in the concentrations of water, carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulfide, it is founded that kerogen could be not only a donor of atoms for gas components, but also their acceptor in contact with a high-energy fluid stream. It is shown that the determination of sulfur-containing atomic groups of kerogen by thermodynamic modelling yields gives more reliable results than molecular dynamics methods. Established is that the concept of “methane-graphite death”, which takes place in the state of thermodynamic equilibrium in the transformation of organic matter, is erroneous. The calculation shows that the composition of the kerogen–gas system, in addition to methane and carbon, includes solid-phase heteroatom groups, various additive components of aromatic structures and gases, both organic and inorganic. The distribution of elements between the additive components of kerogen and gases in this system controls the pressure and temperature in a complex way. The nature of changes in hydrocarbon gas concentrations in equilibrium with type II kerogen indicates the presence of an “oil window” in low-warmed zones within 2–4 km depths.