Extraction of high molecular weight hydrocarbons from source rocks: an example from the Green River Formation, Uinta Basin, Utah

Results of extraction experiments performed on immature Green River Formation source rock samples from the Black Shale Facies (Uinta Basin, Utah) demonstrate the potential of extracting high molecular weight hydrocarbons (HMWHC) with sequential dichloromethane:methanol/soxhlet and p-xylene/sonication techniques. The first soxhlet extraction step with DCM:MeOH removes lower molecular weight alkanes from the source rock while the HMWHC remain in the rock residue. Sonication of the rock residue with p-xylene recovers these HMWHC, showing distinct hydrocarbon distributions and preferences in high temperature gas chromatograms. Extracts obtained by using p-xylene/soxhlet with original source rocks and sequential soxhlet...

Categories: Publication; Types: Citation, Journal Citation; Tags: Organic Geochemistry, Uinta Basin, eocene black shale facies, green river formation, high molecular weight hydrocarbons, All tags... high temperature gas chromatography, p-xylene, source rock extracts, soxhlet extraction, ultrasonic, Fewer tags