Uinta Basin wurtzilite: a product of natural vulcanization?

the macromolecular structure of the pyrobitumen wurtzilite has been examined by a variety of chemical and analytical techniques, including desulfurization with lithium in ethylamine. The results of these analyses provide strong evidence for the presence of intermolecular sulfur linkages in the wurtzilite geopolymer matrix, which are thought to have formed via a process of low temperature “natural vulcanization”. The polymerized hydrocarbon components appear to be a complex mixture of n-alkanes, isoprenoids, and heterocompounds, offering further insight toward a bulk structural model for wurtzilite.