Kerogen

Common card · No. 334168

Kerogen is solid, insoluble organic matter in sedimentary rocks. It consists of a variety of organic materials, including dead plants, algae, and other microorganisms, that have been compressed and heated by geological processes. All the kerogen on earth is estimated to contain 1016 tons of carbon. This makes it the most abundant source of organic compounds on earth, exceeding the total organic content of living matter 10,000-fold. The type of kerogen present in a particular rock formation depends on the type of organic material that was originally present. Kerogen can be classified by these origins: lacustrine (e.g., algal), marine (e.g., planktonic), and terrestrial (e.g., pollen and spores). The type of kerogen also depends on the degree of heat and pressure it has been subjected to, and the length of time the geological processes ran. This results in a complex mixture of organic compounds residing in sedimentary rocks which serve as the precursors for the formation of hydrocarbons such...

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