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Effects of illite–smectite clay minerals on the thermal evolution of aliphatic organic matter-clay complexes: a study with thermogravimetry coupled with Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (TG-FTIR)

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Abstract

Illite–smectite (I-Sm) clay minerals widely existed in clay-rich rocks or sediments. Understanding the effects of I-Sm clay minerals on the thermal evolution of organic matters (OMs) may facilitate interpreting hydrocarbon generation levels in petroleum basins and the global organic carbon cycle. In this study, mixed-layer I-Sm mineral rectorite (Rec), end-members montmorillonite (Mnt), and illite (Ilt) were chosen as the typical clay minerals and aliphatic organic compounds with different functional groups were selected as model OMs. Two kinds of OM-clay complexes, including OM-clay mixtures and OM-clay interlayer composite, were prepared. Pyrolysis experiment of OM-clay complexes were conducted via thermogravimetry coupled with Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (TG-FTIR). TG-FTIR analysis showed that I-Sm clay minerals influenced the main thermal decomposition temperature (TM) and gas products of pyrolyzed OMs. Both Rec and Mnt decreased the TM of OMs and promoted decarboxylation, and the effect of Rec on TM was more obvious. Ilt had no significant effect on the TM and decarboxylation. Physicochemical property of the minerals showed that the solid acidity of the clay mineral was the key factor for the TM and types of thermal decomposition reaction (i.e., decarboxylation and C–C cleavage). Further analysis indicated that the functional groups of OMs affected the pyrolytic behaviors of OMs. OMs with cationic groups can be intercalated into the interlayers of clay minerals, which thus exhibited a high thermal stability. Functional groups such as alkyl chain and carboxyl groups had different binding effect with clay minerals, which leading to a difference of TM. Our results provide new insights into the role of I-Sm clay minerals in hydrocarbon generation in fine-grained sedimentary rocks as well as the geochemical behavior of organic carbon in response to inorganic minerals.

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Acknowledgements

This work was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (41802039; 41972046; 42025705; 42002040), GDAS’ Project of Science and Technology Development (2020GDASYL-20200102019) and the Science and Technology Planning Project of Guangdong Province, China (2017BT01Z176).

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  1. Hongling Bu and Yanfu Wei have contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Guangdong Key Laboratory of Integrated Agro-Environmental Pollution Control and Management, Institute of Eco-Environmental and Soil Sciences, National-Regional Joint Engineering Research Center for Soil Pollution Control and Remediation in South China, Guangdong Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, 510650, China

    Hongling Bu & Chengshuai Liu

  2. CAS Key Laboratory of Mineralogy and Metallogeny/Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Mineral Physics and Materials, Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Institutions of Earth Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, 510640, China

    Hongling Bu, Dong Liu & Hongmei Liu

  3. National Observation and Research Station of Coastal Ecological Environments in Macao, Macao Environmental Research Institute, Macau University of Science and Technology, Taipa, Macao, 999078, China

    Yanfu Wei

  4. Key Laboratory of Solid Waste Treatment and Resource Recycle, Sichuan Engineering, Lab of Non-Metallic Mineral Powder Modification & High-Value Utilization, Ministry of Education, Southwest University of Science and Technology, Mianyang, 621010, China

    Daoyong Tan

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Bu, H., Wei, Y., Liu, C. et al. Effects of illite–smectite clay minerals on the thermal evolution of aliphatic organic matter-clay complexes: a study with thermogravimetry coupled with Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (TG-FTIR). J Therm Anal Calorim 148, 741–752 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10973-022-11829-z

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