SHALE KEROGEN – HYDRAULIC FRACTURING FLUID INTERACTIONS AND CONTAMINANT RELEASE Megan K. Dustin1, John R. Bargar2, Adam D. Jew,1,2 Anna L. Harrison1,2, Claresta Joe-Wong1, Dana L. Thomas1, Gordon E. Brown, Jr.1,2,3, and Katharine Maher4* 1 Department of Geological Sciences, School of Earth, Energy & Environmental Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305-2115, USA 2 Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, 2575 Sand Hill Road, Menlo Park, CA 94062, USA 3 Department of Photon Science, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, 2575 Sand Hill Road, Menlo Park, CA 94062, USA 4 Department of Earth Systems Science, School of Earth, Energy & Environmental Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305-2115, USA *Corresponding author:
[email protected] Abstract The recent increase in unconventional oil and gas exploration and production has prompted a large amount of research on hydraulic fracturing, but the majority of chemical reactions between shale minerals and organic matter with fracturing fluids are not well understood. Organic matter, primarily in the form of kerogen, dominates the transport pathways for oil and gas; thus any alteration of kerogen (both physical and chemical properties) upon exposure to fracturing fluid may impact hydrocarbon extraction. In addition, kerogen is enriched in metals, making it a potential source of heavy metal contaminants to produced waters. In this study, we reacted two different kerogen isolates of contrasting type and maturity (derived from Green River and Marcellus shales) with a synthetic hydraulic fracturing fluid for two weeks in order to determine the effect of fracturing fluids on both shale organic matter and closely associated minerals.