A Discussion of the Chemical Structure of the Organic Matter in Green River Oil Shale

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to question the idea that the organic matter in Green River oil shale is a macromo-lecule or polymer-like material and to present evidence taken from the literature that describes its composition. The paper (1) discusses the composition of kerogen and bitumen and (2) attempts to show that Green River kerogen is a complex mixture of organic compounds, rather than a macromolecule or polymer-like material.