Bathvillite is a naturally occurring
organic substance
In chemistry, organic compounds are generally any chemical compounds that contain carbon-hydrogen or carbon-carbon bonds. Due to carbon's ability to catenate (form chains with other carbon atoms), millions of organic compounds are known. The s ...
. It is an amorphous, opaque, and very friable material of fawn-brown color, filling cavities in the
torbanite or
Boghead coal
Torbanite, also known as boghead coal or channel coal, is a variety of fine-grained black oil shale. It usually occurs as Lens (geology), lenticular masses, often associated with deposits of Permian coals.
Torbanite is classified as Lacustrine ...
of
Bathville,
Lothian,
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...
. It has a specific gravity of 1.01, and is insoluble in
benzene
Benzene is an organic chemical compound with the molecular formula C6H6. The benzene molecule is composed of six carbon atoms joined in a planar ring with one hydrogen atom attached to each. Because it contains only carbon and hydrogen atoms ...
. It may resemble wood in its final stage of decay.
References
Organic minerals
Oil shale geology
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