ESCA applied to a study of some materials of geochemical interest

Electron spectroscopy for chemical applications (ESCA) has been used to study a series of samples of sedimentary organic matter comprising coal, kerogen and bitumen. The elemental analysis data from the ESCA experiment Is found to be In reasonable agreement with data obtained by conventional micro- analytical techniques. In addition, structural information derived from the ESCA analyses is presented. The extent to which these geochemical materials undergo changes In functionality, as detected by ESCA, when subjected to nonequilibrium plasmas, excited principally In oxygen, has been investigated. Special attention has been paid to a study of the plasma oxidation of gllsonite, a naturally occurring bitumen, as a function of treatment time and plasma power. Complementary to this Investigation, a selection of polymer samples has also been treated under similar conditions.