Diffuse reflectance infrared fourier transform spectroscopy for characterization of earth materials

1. A method of analyzing an earth sample taken from a borehole comprising:

using a diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectrometer (DRIFTS) to:

irradiate the earth sample with infrared energy;

collect one or more spectra of the infrared energy reflected from the earth sample and creating a dataset therefrom;

using one or more processing units to:

analyze the dataset by performing regression analysis against a library of data obtained from standard spectra; and

characterize the earth sample from results obtained by the regression analysis wherein the characterization includes determining an organic content of the earth sample.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the characterization includes determining lithology, mineralogy and organic content of the earth sample.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the earth sample is a core sample.

4. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

obtaining the earth sample with limited or no sample preparation.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the infrared radiation is in the mid-infrared range.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the earth sample comprises drill cuttings.

7. The method of claim 6 further comprising:

cleaning the drill cuttings to remove oil based mud; and

crushing the drill cuttings to a particle size of less than 200 microns.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein the regression analysis uses a weighted least squares regression algorithm.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein the analyzing the dataset includes applying a Kubelka-Munk transformation to the collected one or more spectra.

10. The method of claim 1 wherein the standard spectra includes but is not limited to spectra for calcite, dolomite, illite, smectite, kaolinite and kerogen.

11. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

obtaining a first chemical composition of the earth sample with an x-ray fluorescence (XRF) device; and

comparing the first chemical composition to an expected chemical composition of the earth sample from the characterization of the earth sample.

12. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

obtaining lithology and mineralogy data of the earth sample with an x-ray diffraction (XRD) device; and

using the lithology and mineralogy data of the earth sample with the regression analysis to identify one or a plurality of mineral phases of the earth sample.

13. The method of claim 1 wherein the regression analysis is performed by an algorithm selected from a group consisting of multiple linear regression, weighed least squares regression or partial least squares regression.

14. An apparatus for analyzing an earth sample, comprising:

an infrared light source for generating infrared energy at a plurality of wavelengths;

a detector for detecting infrared energy that is reflected by the earth sample;

an analyzer for analyzing the reflected energy by performing regression analysis against a library of data obtained from standard spectra; and

determining an organic content of the earth sample from results obtained by the regression analysis.

15. The apparatus of claim 14 wherein the earth sample is a core sample.

16. The apparatus of claim 14 wherein the earth sample is obtained with limited or no sample preparation.

17. The apparatus of claim 14 wherein the infrared light source is in the mid-infrared range.

18. A method of characterizing an earth material using diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy comprising:

obtaining drill cuttings from a selected region of a borehole;

cleaning the drill cuttings to remove drilling mud;

crushing the drill cuttings to a particle size of less than 200 microns;

forming a sample with the crushed drill cuttings, wherein the sample is devoid of dilution solvent,

with a radiation source illuminating the sample with infrared radiation;

collecting and analyzing reflected diffuse energy from the sample; and

characterizing the earth material by comparing the sample spectral response with those of known mineral standards using a regression analysis.

19. The method of claim 18 wherein the characterization includes determining lithology, mineralogy and organic content of the sample.

20. The method of claim 18 , wherein illuminating the sample comprises illuminating a powder consisting of the crushed drill cuttings.

21. The method of claim 6 , wherein irradiating the earth sample comprises irradiating a powder consisting of the crushed drill cuttings.