Morphological and chemical features of a kerogen from the underground Mol laboratory (Boom Clay Formation, Oligocene, Belgium): structure, source organisms and formation pathways

The Boom Clay Formation (Belgium, Oligocene) has been selected as a model site for studying the long-term disposal of nuclear waste. Upon disposal, the insoluble organic matter (kerogen) contained in the formation will undergo thermal stress and could thus generate some soluble compounds which may have complexing properties with respect to radionuclides and/or modify the physico-chemical features of the clay. As the first part of a larger study dealing with the efficiency of such a geological barrier, a kerogen from the Boom Clay Formation, collected in the underground laboratory of Mol (Belgium), was examined for its chemical structure, source organisms and formation pathways, via a combination of spectroscopic, microscopic and pyrolytic methods.