In this article we report a multiscale approach for explaining why the transport of fluids in oil shales is so hindered. Thanks to nuclear and electronic magnetic resonances, we first demonstrate that the kerogen within the shale is capable of swelling in the presence of oil; and second we show that this swelling is reversible and reveals the presence of vanadyl porphyrin by breaking magnetic interaction. The magnetic interactions evidenced helps understand the very low mobility of hydrocarbons.

Egyptian mummies were covered with an enigmatic black organic matter. Its chemical composition is classically determined by molecular analysis methods, which are destructive by nature. In a new analytical approach based on 1H and 14N hyperfine spectroscopy, we use V⁺ ions, existing at trace level in this black matter, as internal probes for a non-destructive exploration of the material. The results suggest that a common recipe was used for animal and human mummies of different ages.