Role of the Interlayer Space of Montmorillonite in Hydrocarbon Generation: A Combined Study by TG-FTIR and High Temperature-Pressure Pyrolysis

The interlayer clay-organic complex is an important clay-organic association in sedimentary environments. The interlayer region of clay minerals not only provides storage space for organic matter, but also possesses solid acid sites; and these acid sites were proposed to be involved with the transformation of organic matter into liquid and gaseous hydrocarbons. However, the effect of the organic matter storage in the interlayer space of clay minerals on the hydrocarbons generation has not been made clear. In this study, the interlayer complex of 12-aminolauric acid (ALA) and Na+-montmorillonite (Na+-Mt), labeled as ALAinter-Mt (Na), was synthesized to investigate the role of the interlayer space of montmorillonite in hydrocarbon generation. Simply mixed ALA-Mt complex [ALA-Mt (Na)] was also prepared for comparison. The pyrolysis of ALA and ALA-Mt complexes was studied using thermogravimetry coupled with Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (TG-FTIR) and a high temperature-pressure system (a confined gold capsule-autoclave system).