Use of Fourier Transform infrared spectroscopy for determining oil shale properties

Fourier Transform infrared analysis has been examined as a technique for evaluating the oil-yielding potential of raw oil shales. The technique was developed recently for analysing coals, and gives a quantitative measure of aliphatic, aromatic and hydroxyl hydrogen. From these measurements, it was verified that an approximate rectilinear relation exists between the oil yield of an oil shale as determined by Fischer assay and the aliphatic hydrogen concentration in the shale. An equivalent relation was established previously between the oil yield and the aliphatic carbon concentration as determined by ¹³C cross polarization n.m.r. When the oil yield is expressed in weight per cent, it is seen that the yield is only slightly less than the weight per cent of aliphatic hydrocarbons. This suggests that, under the conditions of the Fischer assay, there is almost complete conversion of the aliphatic components to oil.