Gilsonite and related hydrocarbons of the Uinta Basin, Utah

Hydrocarbons are important in the present study for two reasons: ( 1) An understanding of their nature and origin may lead to a better understanding of the oil possibilities in the area. (2) From gilsonite, kerogen, and associated bituminous substances there may be fractionated many still-undiscovered hydrocarbons of strategic importance to our industrial life. Furthermore, there is the possibility that underground fractionation and distillation of kerogen and bitumen may eventually prove economically feasible and thus serve as a vast source of petroleum (Kerrick). To the layman, Gilsonite is a mineral. To the mineralogist, it is a mineraloid. But to the industrial chemist, it is a new material of primary importance in modern industry.