THERMAL AND MINERALOGICAL STUDIES OF MOROCCAN RIF BITUMINOUS ROCKS

A study was conducted on four bituminous rock samples from Tangier, Tetouan, Bab Taza and Arba Ayach deposits (samples TA, TE, BT, AA, respectively) in the Rif region of northern Morocco. The study was carried out using thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray fluorescence (XFR), inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES), and scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive spectrum analysis (SEM-EDX). The results obtained by these methods showed that the organic part of TA, TE, BT and AA samples was 5.59 wt%, 6.73 wt%, 4.77 wt% and 7.53 wt%, respectively. Therefore these bituminous rocks can be considered a perspective energy resource. The dominant mineral phase in all samples is quartz (70.04-84.46 wt%). Clay minerals (illite, chlorite) and other mineral components are present in different low-weight proportions. Keywords: mineralogy, bituminous rocks, thermogravimetry, X-ray diffraction, X-ray fluorescence, Moroccan Rif.