Petrographic and chemical structure characteristics of amorphous organic matter in marine black shales: Insights from Pennsylvanian and Devonian black shales in the Illinois Basin

Abstract

Amorphous organic matter (AOM or bituminite) is a major oil-prone liptinite maceral in black shales that can be classified into two main types: low-reflectance AOM and micrinized AOM. In this study, we investigated the petrographic and chemical structure characteristics of these two types of AOM and discussed their origin based on 15 marine black shale samples from the Illinois Basin, including 5 samples from the Pennsylvanian shales and 10 samples from the Upper Devonian New Albany Shale. The studied samples are at early mature stage, with mean vitrinite reflectance ranging from 0.64 to 0.74%. Low-reflectance AOM is the dominant organic matter (OM) in all samples and micrinized AOM is common only in the Pennsylvanian strata but is very rare in the New Albany Shale. There are significant differences in reflectance, petrographic characteristics, and chemical structure characteristics between low-reflectance and micrinized AOM. Low-reflectance AOM has a reflectance of 0.30 to 0.57%, whereas the reflectance of micrinized AOM is typically >1.0%, which makes micrinized AOM brighter than low-reflectance AOM under an optical microscope. Both types of AOM have heterogeneous texture, occur as structureless organic streaks or lenses, and have abundant clay-sized mineral inclusions. Compared to micrinized AOM, low-reflectance AOM has lower aromaticity and higher aliphatic chain length (inferred from the CH2/CH3 ratio). Based on the petrographic and chemical functional groups characteristics, we proposed evolutionary pathways for the formation of low-reflectance and micrinized AOM in marine black shales during early diagenesis. AOM is originally derived from microbially degraded phytoplankton. Low-reflectance AOM formed in the fermentation zone through microbial degradation of phytoplankton by anaerobic bacteria. In comparison, micrinized AOM is a product of an advanced degree of microbial degradation of phytoplankton by aerobic bacteria that preferentially consume aliphatic functional groups over aromatics in the oxidation zone. Different depositional environments and subsequent diagenetic alterations resulted in the difference in micrinized AOM content between the New Albany Shale and Pennsylvanian shales. This study provides a better understanding of the origin, formation, and thermal maturation of dispersed AOM in black shale successions.