Hydrocarbons and residual oil recovery with ultrasonic-assisted waves and co-solvents

In this work, the physicochemical characteristics of the recovered organic fractions and the correlation between organic-makers existence and recovered hydrocarbons are studied on two shale samples from the Kubang Pasu (KP) Formation, Kedah, Malaysia formation. Improving the extractability of organic matter is the key to evaluate the source or reservoir rock petroleum characteristic, this study is an attempt to estimate the optimist extraction technique and conditions for shale rocks. In this work, the physic-chemical characteristics of two moderately organic-rich shale samples from the North-Western Peninsula Malaysia are studied. The recovered organic matter using Soxhlet and ultrasonic extraction processes of the shale samples with toluene is inspected. Samples characteristics in terms of micro-porous surface area and volume analysis, elemental compositions, total organic compounds, surface morphology with elemental mapping, and elemental cations with the active functional groups are analyzed. The solutes of the extraction process are evaluated utilizing gas chromatography and mass spectroscopy (GCMS), and Fourier transforms infrared (FTIR) techniques. The extraction measurements showed a wider range of organic matter recovered from KPK-13 compared to KPK-14 shale. Hence, the total organic content (TOC) of both samples are almost identical (i.e.: � 1.5) which might refer to the higher carbon mineralogy as quantified by EDX mapping, lower surface area according to N2 adsorption analysis, the thermal maturity, or kerogen type of the KPK-14 shale samples. The Soxhlet and ultra-sonication extraction process showed feasible extraction of organic fractions with up to C20. Various configurations of alkanes, alkenes, amines and esters are indicated in the post-sonication solutes with higher weight ratios on the KPK-14 shale sample. The study provides an insightful relation between the organic matter existence and their characteristics, with the possible extractable fractions using the ultrasonic technique as cost and time effective approach. © Published under licence by IOP Publishing Ltd.