Compound-specific stable carbon isotopic composition of petroleum hydrocarbons as a tool for tracing the source of oil spills.
With the increasing demand for and consumption of crude oils, oil spill accidents happen frequently during the transportation of crude oils and oil products, and the environmental hazard they pose has become increasingly serious in China. The exact identification of the source of spilled oil can act as forensic evidence in the investigation and handling of oil spill accidents. In this study, a weathering simulation experiment demonstrates that the mass loss of crude oils caused by short-term weathering mainly occurs within the first 24h after a spill, and is dominated by the depletion of low-molecular weight hydrocarbons (<C(18) n-alkanes). Short-term weathering has no significant effect on delta(13)C values of individual n-alkanes (C(12)-C(33)), suggesting that a stable carbon isotope profile of n-alkanes can be a useful tool for tracing the source of an oil spill, particularly for weathered oils or those with a relatively low concentration or absence of sterane and terpane biomarkers.
State Key Laboratory of Organic Geochemistry (SKLOG), Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510640, PR China.
Yun
Y
Li
Yongqiang
Y
Xiong
Wanying
W
Yang
Yueliang
Y
Xie
Siyuan
S
Li
Yongge
Y
Sun
D000473:Alkanes / Q000032:analysis / Q000737:chemistry; D002247:Carbon Isotopes / Q000032:analysis / Q000737:chemistry; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D006838:Hydrocarbons / Q000032:analysis* / Q000737:chemistry; D010578:Petroleum; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis* / Q000737:chemistry
D000473:Alkanes; D002247:Carbon Isotopes; D006838:Hydrocarbons; D010578:Petroleum; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical