10 results about "Kerogen" patented technology

Kerogen is solid, insoluble organic matter in sedimentary rocks. Consisting of an estimated 10¹⁶ tons of carbon, it is the most abundant source of organic compounds on earth, exceeding the total organic content of living matter by 10,000 fold. It is insoluble in normal organic solvents and it does not have a specific chemical formula. Upon heating, kerogen converts in part to liquid and gaseous hydrocarbons. Petroleum and natural gas form from kerogen. Kerogen may be classified by its origin: lacustrine (e.g., algal), marine (e.g., planktonic), and terrestrial (e.g., pollen and spores). The name "kerogen" was introduced by the Scottish organic chemist Alexander Crum Brown in 1906, derived from the Greek for "wax birth" (Greek: κηρός "wax" and -gen, γένεση "birth").