Characterization of Organic Matter from Bituminous Coals of Lafia-Obi, Middle Benue Trough, Nigeria

The present work deals with a study based on the geochemical techniques such as biomarkers, Rock-Eval pyrolysis, and detailed petrographic study to evaluate hydrocarbon generation potential of coal by collecting nine coal and carbonaceous shale samples from boreholes in Awgu Formation of Middle Benue Trough, Nigeria. The values vitrinite reflectance (0.94–1.15%VR) and Tmax (446–469°C) confirmed that samples are matured enough to generate liquid and gaseous hydrocarbon in coal. The coal samples also contain sufficient quantity of vitrinite and liptinite macerals varying from 70.28% to 74.10 wt%, which confirm the production of liquid hydrocarbon. The cross-plot between H/C and O/C atomic ratio indicates that samples were predominant in the bituminous rank and having kerogen Type III makes it suitable for hydrocarbon generation. Similar results were found in Rock-Eval pyrolysis analysis (Types II-III and Type III kerogen). The homohopane index (C35/C31 - C35) and homohopane ratio (C35αβS/C34αβS) range from 0.02 to 0.12 and 0.15 to 0.92 indicates oxic condition during organic matter deposition from Lafia-Obi samples. The Moretane/Hopane, Hopane/Hopane + Moretane, Ts/Ts + Tm, 22S/22S + 22RC32homohopane ratios range from 0.06 to 0.14; 0.88 to 0.94; 0.34 to 0.66; and 0.53 to 0.62 and 20S/20S+20R and αββ/αββ+ααα C29 ratios range from 0.43 to 0.58 and 0.42 to 0.55 indicate samples ar e within the late oil window/gas phase. Plots of 22S/22S+22R C32hopanes against C29αββ/αββ+ααα steranes show that Lafia-Obisamples are thermally mature.

Constraints on the Organic Matter Accumulation of Lower Cambrian Niutitang Shales in the Middle Yangtze Region, South China

The lower Cambrian Niutitang shales, as one of target intervals with the greatest potential for shale gas exploration and development, have attracted much attention. Nevertheless, the organic matter enrichment mechanisms of the lower Cambrian Niutitang shales need further study, especially in the hydrothermal active zone. In this study, samples from ND1 well in western Hubei Province, middle Yangtze region, South China, were investigated for the controlling factors of organic matter accumulation of Lower Cambrian Niutitang shales by detailed petrographic, mineralogic, and geochemical proxies. The results show that hydrothermal activity and sea level fluctuation controlled the redox conditions and paleoproductivity of seawater and ultimately controlled the organic matter accumulation of Niutitang formation. In the Niu-1 member, the intense hydrothermal events lead to a suboxic to anoxic environment, which is conducive to the organic matter preservation. However, low sea level strengthens the restriction of water mass and reduced nutrient upwelling into the shelf, leading to decreased marine primary productivity, which was ultimately responsible for depleted organic matter accumulation in the Niu-1 member. In the Niu-2 member, the anoxic-euxinic environment and high paleoproductivity, driven by continuous hydrothermal activity and rising sea level, were the main factors controlling the enrichment of organic matter. In the Niu-3 member, the dysoxic to oxic condition plus low primary productivity, caused by the disappearance of hydrothermal activities and sea-level fall, resulted in the unfavorable organic matter accumulation. The results of this paper enrich the model of organic matter enrichment in the lower Cambrian black shale in the middle Yangtze region.

Organic geochemical and palynological studies of the Maastrichtian source rock intervals in Bida Basin, Nigeria: implications for hydrocarbon prospectivity

The Patti Formation which consists of sandstone and shale offers the best potential source beds in the Bida Basin. This inland basin is one of the basins currently being tested for hydrocarbon prospectivity in Nigeria. Fresh samples of shale from Agbaja borehole, Ahoko quarry and Geheku road cut were analysed using organic geochemical and palynological techniques to unravel their age, paleoecology, palynofacies and source bed hydrocarbon potential. Palynological data suggest Maastrichtian age for the sediments based on the abundance of microfloral assemblage; Retidiporites magdalenensis, Echitriporites trianguliformis and Buttinia andreevi. Dinocysts belonging to the Spiniferites, Deflandrea and Dinogymnium genera from some of the analysed intervals are indicative of freshwater swamp and normal sea conditions. Palynological evidence further suggests mangrove paleovegetation and humid climate. Relatively high total organic carbon TOC (0.77–8.95 wt%) was obtained for the shales which implies substantial concentration of organic matter in the source beds. Hydrocarbon source rock potential ranges from 0.19 to 0.70 mgHC/g.rock except for a certain source rock interval in the Agbaja borehole with high yield of 25.18 mgHC/g.rock. This interval also presents exceptionally high HI of 274 mgHC/g.TOC and moderate amount of amorphous organic matter. The data suggests that in spite of the favourable organic matter quantity, the thermal maturity is low as indicated by vitrinite reflectance and Tmax (0.46 to 0.48 Ro% and 413 to 475 °C, respectively). The hydrocarbon extracts show abundance of odd number alkanes C27–C33, low sterane/hopane ratio and Pr/Ph > 2. We conclude that the source rocks were terrestrially derived under oxic condition and dominated by type III kerogen. Type II organic matter with oil and gas potential is a possibility in Agbaja area of Bida Basin. Thermal maturity is low and little, or no hydrocarbon has been generated from the source rocks.

Petroleum Potential of Gombe Formation, Kolmani River-1 Well Gongola Basin, NE Nigeria

Gombe Formation is one of the promising potential source-rock of petroleum in the Gongola basin based on its appreciable amount of organic matter. The present study is therefore aimed at evaluating the hydrocarbon potential of Gombe Formation. Ditch-cutting samples were collected from the depth of 731.5 m to 1554.5 m from Gombe Formation that penetrated the Kolmani River-1 well. The source-rock potential was evaluated based on kerogen analysis and soluble organic matter content using Fourier Transform- Infra red spectroscopic (FT-IR) and Gas chromatography-Mass spectrometric (GC-MS) techniques respectively. There is presence of peak at 900-1000 cm-1 which is due to CH2 rocking vibration in long chain aliphatic substances, which is characteristic of liptinite macerals indicating good potential source-rock for oil and gas. The n-alkane ranges from C11-C33 maximizing at nC16 which suggests that the organic matter are majorly derived from marine organic matter. The Pr/Ph (1.49-1.92) shows that the organic matter was deposited under sub-oxic condition. The distribution of hopanes, homohopanes (C27-C29) steranes, (C0-C4) alkylated naphthalenes and (C0-C3) alkylated phenanthrenes indicate the presence of angiosperm, gymnosperm, algae, marine and bacteria input to the organic matter contained in the samples. Also the plot of DBT/P vs. Pr/Ph classifies the samples into zone 3 (i.e. marine shale and other lacustrine). Various maturity parameters computed from saturate biomarker and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon distributions shows that the samples are low mature with the moderately mature zone at the bottom (>1408.2 m) of Gombe Formation. In conclusion, the kerogen was probably derived from type II/III organic matter capable of generating both oil and gas and the moderately mature zone lies at the bottom of the Formation. Key words: Lacustrine, Gombe formation, Maturity, Hydrocarbon, Kerogen

The Study of Phosphate Release from Artificial Sediment into Water Body Using Diffusive Gradient in Thin Film (DGT) Device in Oxic Condition

The phenomenon of phosphate release in sediments into water bodies under oxic environment has been investigated using the Diffusive Gradient in Thin Film (DGT) technique. This research consists of several stages: polymer synthesis and DGT probe assembly, sediment sampling, DGT deployment in oxic conditions, and phosphate analysis from DGT adsorption results. Acrylamide polymer was successfully synthesized with a composition 15% acrylamide; N-N'-methylenebisacrylamide 0.1% and ferrihydrite as binding gels. DGT probes were assembly by placing a 16 x 3.2 cm polyacrylamide gel, binding gels and filter membranes on the DGT probes. The sediment sample was taken from the Bogor Botanical Gardens at the coordinates 6°36’00.6” S; 106°47’51.0” E. The DGT probe was placed in sediment samples for 1, 3 and 7 days in oxic conditions. After the prescribed time, the binding gel was removed and cut every 1 cm depth, then eluted using 0.25 M H2SO4 and the phosphate concentration was measured using spectrophotometry method. The results showed that the phosphate concentration tends to be higher with the increasing incubation time and depth. Maximum CDGT phosphate released on day 1, day 3 and day 7 were 1.00 µg/L at a depth of 14 cm, 6.61 µg/L at a depth of 14 cm, and 20.92 µg/L at a depth of 11 cm respectively. This ensures that the phosphate in water bodies comes from biogeochemical processes that occur in sediments and is successfully measured through DGT techniques.

Some aspects of restoration of degradated sewage receivers

Bottom sediments are naturally connected with water body of the river and it is essential inpollutant balance, Natural phosphorus cycle in water environment is sedimentation cycle,Once introduced to water ecosystem can be removed by different chemical, biological andphysical processes and loses its environmental mobility as a sediment component,In studied case the contaminants load was radically reduced by construction of wastewatertreatment plant in city of Lodz, But the water quality improvement was not commensurate tothis reduction, Such situation could be the result of increased phosphorus release fromsediments deposed in the course of decades in river bed, On the distance the phosphateconcentration increases up to 25 km downstream the WWfP outlet and it can not beexplained by other pollution sources. The phosphorus content in the sediment is as high as 27 1 mg kg- dw, The equilibrium phosphate concentration (EPCo) experiment showed that itcould be released to water body, The preliminary results showed that EPCo value exceed in 3 some points limit polish water quality norm and amount to 1.2 mg PO4 dm- in oxic condition,

Biogeochemical Characterization of Metal Behavior from Novel Mussel Shell Bioreactor Sludge Residues

Acid mine drainage (AMD) remediation commonly produces byproducts which must be stored or utilized to reduce the risk of further contamination. A mussel shell bioreactor has been implemented at a coal mine in New Zealand, which is an effective remediation option, although an accumulated sludge layer decreased efficiency which was then removed and requires storage. To understand associated risks related to storage or use of the AMD sludge material, a laboratory mesocosm study investigated the physio-chemical and biological influence in two conditions: anoxic storage (burial deep within a waste rock dump) or exposure to oxic environments (use of sludge on the surface of the mine). Solid phase characterization by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and selective extraction was completed to compare two environmental conditions (oxic and anoxic) under biologically active and abiotic systems (achieved by gamma irradiation). Changes in microbial community structure were monitored using 16s rDNA amplification and next-generation sequencing. The results indicate that microbes in an oxic environment increase the formation of oxyhydroxides and acidic conditions increase metal mobility. In an oxic and circumneutral environment, the AMD sludge may be repurposed to act as an oxygen barrier for mine tailings or soil amendment. Anoxic conditions would likely promote the biomineralization of sulfide minerals in the AMD sludge by sulfate reducing bacteria (SRB), which were abundant in the system. The anoxic conditions reduced the risk of trace metals (Zn) associated with oxides, but increased Fe associated with organic material. In summary, fewer risks are associated with anoxic burial but repurposing in an oxic condition may be appropriate under favorable conditions.

Sediment Characteristics of Mergui Basin, Andaman Sea based on Multi-proxy Analyses

This paper presents the characteristics of sediment from core BS-36 (6°55.85’ S and 96°7.48’ E, 1147.1 m water depth) that was acquired in the Mergui Basin, Andaman Sea. The analyses involved megascopic description, core scanning by multi-sensor core logger, and carbonate content measurement. The purpose of this study is to determine the physical and chemical characteristics of sediment to infer the depositional environment. The results show that this core can be divided into 5 lithologic units that represent various environmental conditions. The sedimentation of the bottom part, Units V and IV were inferred to be deposited in suboxic to anoxic bottom condition combined with high productivity and low precipitation. Unit III was deposited during high precipitation and oxic condition due to ocean ventilation. In the upper part, Units II and I occurred during higher precipitation, higher carbonate production and suboxic to anoxic condition.Keywords: sediment characteristics, Mergui Basin, Andaman Sea, suboxic, anoxic, oxic, carbonate content Makalah ini menyajikan karakteristik sedimen contoh inti BS-36 (6°55,85’ LS dan 96°7,48’ BT, kedalaman 1147,1 m) yang diambil di Cekungan Mergui, Laut Andaman. Metode analisis meliputi pemerian megaskopis contoh inti, pemindaian contoh inti dengan menggunakan multi-sensor core logger, dan pengukuran kandungan karbonat. Tujuan penelitian adalah untuk mengetahui karakteristik fisik dan kimiawi sedimen untuk menafsirkan kondisi lingkungan pengendapan. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa contoh inti ini dapat dibagi menjadi 5 unit litologi yang mewakili kondisi lingkungan yang berbeda. Pada bagian bawah sedimen, Unit V dan IV ditafsirkan sebagai hasil endapan pada kondisi suboksik hingga anoksik pada saat produktivitas tinggi dan curah hujan rendah. Unit III diendapkan pada saat curah hujan tinggi dan kondisi oksik yang diperkirakan berkaitan dengan ventilasi samudera. Pada bagian atas, Unit II dan I diendapkan pada saat curah hujan cukup tinggi dengan produksi karbonat yang cukup besar dan kondisi dasar laut suboksik hingga anoksik. Kata kunci: karakteristik sedimen, Cekungan Mergui, Laut Andaman, suboksik, anoksik, oksik, kandungan karbonat