Van Krevelen diagram for various solid fuels

Van Krevelen diagrams are graphical plots developed by Dirk Willem van Krevelen (chemist and professor of fuel technology at the

TU Delft Delft University of Technology ( nl, Technische Universiteit Delft), also known as TU Delft, is the oldest and largest Dutch public technical university, located in Delft, Netherlands. As of 2022 it is ranked by QS World University Rankings am ...

) and used to assess the origin and maturity of

kerogen Kerogen is solid, insoluble organic matter in sedimentary rocks. Comprising an estimated 1016 tons of carbon, it is the most abundant source of organic compounds on earth, exceeding the total organic content of living matter 10,000-fold. It ...

and

petroleum Petroleum, also known as crude oil, or simply oil, is a naturally occurring yellowish-black liquid mixture of mainly hydrocarbons, and is found in geological formations. The name ''petroleum'' covers both naturally occurring unprocessed crude ...

. The diagram

cross-plot A cross-plot is a scatter plot used primarily in Earth science and social science to describe a specialized chart that compares multiple measurements made at a single time or location along two or more axes. The axes of the plot are commonly linea ...

s the

hydrogen Hydrogen is the chemical element with the symbol H and atomic number 1. Hydrogen is the lightest element. At standard conditions hydrogen is a gas of diatomic molecules having the formula . It is colorless, odorless, tasteless, non-toxic ...

carbon Carbon () is a chemical element with the symbol C and atomic number 6. It is nonmetallic and tetravalent—its atom making four electrons available to form covalent chemical bonds. It belongs to group 14 of the periodic table. Carbon makes ...

atomic ratio as a function of the

oxygen Oxygen is the chemical element with the symbol O and atomic number 8. It is a member of the chalcogen group in the periodic table, a highly reactive nonmetal, and an oxidizing agent that readily forms oxides with most elements as we ...

:carbon atomic ratio. Beginning around 2003, the diagrams are often used to visualize data from

mass spectrometry Mass spectrometry (MS) is an analytical technique that is used to measure the mass-to-charge ratio of ions. The results are presented as a '' mass spectrum'', a plot of intensity as a function of the mass-to-charge ratio. Mass spectrometry is u ...

analysis, used for mixtures other than kerogen and petroleum. For example, the diagrams have been used in one analysis of the components in

Scotch whiskey Scotch whisky (; sco, Scots whisky/whiskie, whusk(e)y; often simply called whisky or Scotch) is malt whisky or grain whisky (or a blend of the two), made in Scotland. All Scotch whisky was originally made from malted barley. Commercial disti ...

Types of kerogen

Different types of kerogen have differing potentials to produce

oil An oil is any nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobic (does not mix with water) & lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface active. Most oils are unsaturate ...

during

maturation Maturation is the process of becoming mature; the emergence of individual and behavioral characteristics through growth processes over time. Maturation may refer to: Science * Developmental psychology * Foetal development * Maturity (geology), ...

. These various types of kerogen can be distinguished on a van Krevelen diagram.

References

* van Krevelen, D.W. (1950). "Graphical-statistical method for the study of structure and reaction processes of coal", ''Fuel'', 29, 269–84. * van Krevelen, D.W. and Schuyer, J. (1957) ''Coal science''. Elsevier publishing company.
The chemistry and technology of petroleum
Geochemistry Petroleum geology {{chem-stub

Types of kerogen

See also

References