A knowledge of the thermodynamic properties of hundreds of solid and liquid hydrocarbons and oxygen-, nitrogen-, and sulfur-bearing organic compounds is required to quantify the reactions which govern the evolution of organic carbon in high-temperature geologic processes, and its interactions with rock-forming minerals and aqueous fluids. <br/>In the absence of calorimetric data, the thermodynamic properties of organic compounds can be estimated using different strategies such as carbon number systematics, group additivity techniques, or boiling point predictions. It has recently been found that isomerization ratios reported for high-temperature petroleum systems can also be used along with vitrinite reflectance measurements to derive thermodynamic properties, by analogy with the extraction of thermodynamic properties from reversal experiments in metamorphic petrology. <br/>Examples of calculations involving polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, diamondoids, and organic sulfur compounds will be presented. The stability of organic carbon in deep crustal rocks in relation with the evolution path of metamorphic kerogens towards graphite will be discussed.

Thermodynamic properties of organic compounds at high temperatures and pressures and the stability of organic carbon in deep crustal rocks

2019 Spring National Meeting

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