Characterization of sedimentary organic matter associated with inorganic matrix of overburden from Athabasca oil sand deposits

Considerable quantities of organic material, insoluble in common organic solvents, are known to be associated with the inorganic matrix of oil sands. This insoluble organic matter (IOM) consists of both humic and non-humic components. In this study we have investigated sedimentary organic matter associated with two samples of overburden from Athabasca oil sand deposits. Various fractions of organic matter such as bitumen, humic acid and fulvic acid were extracted from these feedstock using standard techniques. Organic matter insoluble in toluene and NaOH was then beneficiated using an HCl-HF mineral dissolutino technique normally used for the isolation of kerogen concentrate from oil shales. This resulted in a low ash organic concentrate (IOM). The various fractions were analyzed for elemental composition and characterized by infrared and CP/MAS \ub9\ub3C NMR methods. The data from this investigation have been compared with the data for IOM from oil sands and related feedstocks reported previously. Based on this comparison some striking differences have been found in the nature of the IOM from overburden and oil sands. These findings suggest that IOM associated with overburden could mostly be of non-humic nature.Peer reviewed: YesNRC publication: Ye