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Distribution and geochemical significance of trace elements in shale rocks and their residual kerogens

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Abstract

There is a dearth of information about the distribution of trace elements in kerogen from shale rocks despite several reports on trace element composition in many shale samples. In this study, trace elements in shale rocks and their residual kerogens were determined by inductively coupled plasma–mass spectrometry. The results from this study show redox-sensitive elements relatively concentrated in the kerogens as compared to the shales. This may be primarily due to the adsorption and complexation ability of kerogen, which enables enrichment in Ni, Co, Cu, and Zn. For the rare earth elements (REEs), distinct distribution characteristics were observed for shales dominated by terrigenous minerals and their kerogen counterparts. However, shales with less input of terrigenous minerals showed similar REE distribution patterns to their residual kerogen. It is speculated that the distribution patterns of the REEs in shales and kerogens may be source-related.

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Acknowledgements

This work was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 41772117), the Strategic Priority Research Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (XDA14010103) and the National Petroleum and Gas Projects of China (2017ZX05008002).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, 510640, China

    Jian-bing Xu, Bin Cheng, Qian Deng, Yun-gan Liang, Oluwabamise Lekan Faboya & Ze-wen Liao

  2. University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China

    Jian-bing Xu, Qian Deng & Yun-gan Liang

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  1. Jian-bing Xu
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  2. Bin Cheng
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  3. Qian Deng
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  4. Yun-gan Liang
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  6. Ze-wen Liao
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Correspondence to Bin Cheng.

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Xu, Jb., Cheng, B., Deng, Q. et al. Distribution and geochemical significance of trace elements in shale rocks and their residual kerogens. Acta Geochim 37, 886–900 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11631-018-0297-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11631-018-0297-0

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