Effects of acid treatments on Moroccan Tarfaya oil shale and pyrolysis of oil shale and their kerogen

In this study, the kerogen of oil shale from Moroccan Tarfaya deposits was isolated and the changes in the initial organic matter during the removal of the mineral matrix were examined. Chloroform extraction of the oil shale increases the intensity of the peaks in the X-ray diffractograms. Infrared spectra and X-ray diffractograms reveal the presence of mineral, calcite, quartz, kaolinite, and pyrite in the mineral matrix of the oil shale. Hydrochloric and hydrofluoric acids dissolution do not alter the organic matter. The nonisothermal weight loss measurements indicate that thermal decomposition of the isolated kerogen can be described by first-order reaction. A single kinetic expression is valid over the temperature range of kerogen pyrolysis between 433 and 873 K. Furthermore, the results indicate that the removal of mineral matter causes a decrease in the activation energies of the pyrolysis reactions of oil shale.