Vitrinite reflectance (VR_o; %) generally is considered the most reliable technique to determine the thermal maturity of sedimentary rocks. However, it is a time-consuming process to collect reflectance (R_o; %) measurements and is subjective to the interpretation of each trained technician, who must be able to discern between vitrinite and solid bitumen and other organic matter types. Inadvertent misidentification of solid bitumen for vitrinite can lead to reports of ‘suppressed’ VR_o, especially at lower thermal maturities (< 1.0% R_o). Programmed pyrolysis data, such as T_max and hydrogen index (HI), are comparatively inexpensive and more time-efficient to obtain than R_o data and are determined by instrument settings, rather than by operator decision, and are therefore independent of operator-based training or experience bias. This study uses hydrous pyrolysis (HP) residues from various coals and shales to relate measured VR_o and solid bitumen reflectance (BR_o; %) values to their respective T_max and HI values and determines whether these relationships can be used as a proxy to calculate R_o in naturally matured samples. Although the estimation of R_o is not always accurate, the results demonstrate that relational equations for shales and coals derived from the T_max and HI data of HP residues can effectively calculate R_o in natural series. Approximately 60% of calculated R_o from T_max and 83% of calculated R_o from HI relational equations are within interlaboratory reproducibility limits (± 0.2% shale BR_o; ± 0.06% coal VR_o) when compared to their respective measured R_o values from natural series. Variables that may affect accuracy of the applied relational equations include variable sedimentary organic matter composition of samples, differences of maturation reaction kinetics of the sedimentary organic matter in experimental versus natural settings, and decreasing reliability of all thermal proxy measurements at higher maturities.

镜质体反射率 (VR _o ; %) 通常被认为是确定沉积岩热成熟度的最可靠技术。然而，收集反射率 (R _o ; %) 测量值是一个耗时的过程，并且每个受过训练的技术人员的解释都是主观的，他们必须能够区分镜质体和固体沥青以及其他有机物类型。无意中将固体沥青误认为镜质体可能会导致“抑制”VR _{o 的}报告，尤其是在较低的热成熟度 (< 1.0% R _o ) 下。程序化的热解数据，例如 T _max和氢指数 (HI)，与 R _o相比相对便宜且更省时数据和由仪器设置决定，而不是由操作员决定，因此与基于操作员的培训或经验偏差无关。本研究使用来自各种煤和页岩的含水热解 (HP) 残留物将测得的 VR _o和固体沥青反射率 (BR _o ; %) 值与其各自的 T _max和 HI 值相关联，并确定这些关系是否可以用作替代计算自然成熟样品中的R _o。尽管R _o的估计并不总是准确的，但结果表明，根据HP残余物的T _max和HI数据得出的页岩和煤的关系方程可以有效地计算R _o在自然系列。与它们各自测量的 R _o值相比，大约 60% 的T _max计算出的_{Ro o}和 83%来自 HI 关系方程的计算出的_{Ro o}处于实验室间再现性限制（± 0.2% 页岩 BR _o；± 0.06% 煤 VR _o）内从自然系列。可能影响应用关系方程准确性的变量包括样品的可变沉积有机质组成、实验与自然环境中沉积有机质成熟反应动力学的差异，以及在较高成熟度下所有热替代测量的可靠性降低。