Recent Advancements in Kerogen Research

Dear Colleagues,

Kerogen is a kind of dispersed organic matter insoluble in alkali, non-oxidizing acid, and non-polar organic solvent in oil shale and other source rocks. Despite the continuous development of clean energy, a large amount of fossil energy is still needed to make up for the shortage of clean energy supply in the short term. Therefore, oil shale, as a kind of supplementary energy resource, has become very important for the global energy infrastructure in the 21st century. It is because of this that it is especially important to expand research focused on the development of the efficient and low-cost processing of this type of kerogen and oil shale.

This Topic is devoted to the development of new technologies of oil shale conversion to shale oil and value-added chemicals. The Topic is concerned with, but not limited to, pyrolysis mechanisms, catalytic conversion, in situ conversion, and comprehensive utilization. Research on pyrolysis molecular simulation as well as molecular characterization of kerogen and shale oil is also welcome. Moreover, papers that address these issues from other perspectives but still within the broad range of research applications of the main topic fields are also encouraged.

Prof. Dr. Qing Wang
Prof. Dr. Liang Huang
Dr. Da Cui
Dr. Shuo Pan
Topic Editors