Influence of Resinite on Huminite Properties

Vitrain from Teruel (northeastern Spain) constitutes a good example of the influence of liptinitic compounds on properties of huminite. The resinization of the humotelinitic tissue of this lithotype has provoked an important suppression of its reflectance giving it a strongly perhydrogenated character. Even though it later undergoes a diagenetic evolution, neither of the conventional rank parameters reflects the real degree of maturation reached by this vitrain because of the important alteration of its properties. Only its fluorescence features and the FTIR study make it possible to detect this resinization and to approach the degree of maturation from the presence of exudates in its structure. The most important conclusion is that properties of huminite/vitrinite are strongly dependent not only on the amount and type of liptinite but also on its distribution and interrelation between the two maceral groups.