Zastosowanie metod termicznych TG/DSC do celów prospekcji naftowej

Thermal methods allow to examine the course of chemical reactions and phase changes occurring during heating or cooling of substances. Some of them also allow to determine the thermodynamic and kinetic parameters of the reaction. This article presents the basic methodology of TG and DSC methods, as well as their analytical capabilities. The aim of the article was to review the methodological bases of thermogravimetric analysis (TG/DTG) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) as well as their analytical capabilities. Examples of interpretation of curves obtained in relation to geological samples, with particular emphasis on gas shale and source rocks for crude oil, were selected from several published or unpublished studies. Powdered rock samples or separated kerogen were subjected to testing. An example of the interpretation of rock mineral composition based on a thermogram from analysis performed in an oxidizing atmosphere is presented. It also shows, for example, the comparison of TG/DSC (in an inert atmosphere) with Rock-Eval analysis results. In addition to the high correlation of the obtained results, it was shown that the TG/DTG/DSC methods allow to obtain additional information in relation to those from the basic research method used in oil geology, which is Rock-Eval. They allow to specify the degree of kerogen’s maturity, to determine the possible multistage character of its degradation, and also to quantify (based on the TG curve) the amount of mass loss at individual stages of the decomposition. Conducting the TG/DSC experiment in an oxidizing atmosphere allows the determination of the enthalpy of the reaction of the combustion of organic matter contained in the rock. This enthalpy determined in the samples tested, correlates very well with the TOC parameter from the Rock-Eval pyrolytic analysis. The last of the presented examples refers to the procedure for calculating the parameters of the kinetics of organic matter pyrolysis (activation energy and Arrhenius constant), which in relation to kerogen is one of the basic tasks of organic geochem-istry. Based on the analyzes carried out on samples of oligocene menilite shales, it was found that in this case the non-isothermal method gives better results.