Carbonaceous refers to something relating to, containing, or composed of carbon. It is a descriptor used for the attribute of any substance rich in

carbon Carbon () is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol C and atomic number 6. It is nonmetallic and tetravalence, tetravalent—meaning that its atoms are able to form up to four covalent bonds due to its valence shell exhibiting 4 ...

. Particularly, ''carbonaceous

hydrocarbon In organic chemistry, a hydrocarbon is an organic compound consisting entirely of hydrogen and carbon. Hydrocarbons are examples of group 14 hydrides. Hydrocarbons are generally colourless and Hydrophobe, hydrophobic; their odor is usually fain ...

s'' are very unsaturated, high- molecular-weight hydrocarbons, having an elevated carbon:

hydrogen Hydrogen is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol H and atomic number 1. It is the lightest and abundance of the chemical elements, most abundant chemical element in the universe, constituting about 75% of all baryon, normal matter ...

ratio. The

carbonaceous chondrite Carbonaceous chondrites or C chondrites are a class of chondritic meteorites comprising at least 8 known groups and many ungrouped meteorites. They include some of the most primitive known meteorites. The C chondrites represent only a small propo ...

s are meteorites that are rich in carbon. The word "carbonaceous" was first used in 1791.Merriam Webster definition and date of first use
/ref> In geology, metamorphism of a carbonaceous geological material is expressed as a graphitisation process, referring to the

graphite Graphite () is a Crystallinity, crystalline allotrope (form) of the element carbon. It consists of many stacked Layered materials, layers of graphene, typically in excess of hundreds of layers. Graphite occurs naturally and is the most stable ...

generated. Graphitisation may be accelerated or retarded in dependence on various metamorphic or lithological factors involved.

References

Carbon {{Chemistry-stub

See also

References