Mathematics – Logic
Scientific paper
Jan 2012
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2012gecoa..77..582r&link_type=abstract
Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, Volume 77, p. 582-599.
Mathematics
Logic
Scientific paper
To investigate the extent of hydrogen isotope (2H and 1H) exchange between hydrocarbons and water under hydrothermal conditions, we performed experiments heating C1-C5n-alkanes in aqueous solutions of varying initial 2H/1H ratios in the presence of a pyrite-pyrrhotite-magnetite redox buffer at 323 °C and 35-36 MPa. Extensive and reversible incorporation of water-derived hydrogen into C2-C5n-alkanes was observed on timescales of months. In contrast, comparatively minor exchange was observed for CH4. Isotopic exchange is facilitated by reversible equilibration of n-alkanes and their corresponding n-alkenes with H2 derived from the disproportionation of water. Rates of δ2H variation in C3+n-alkanes decreased with time, a trend that is consistent with an asymptotic approach to steady state isotopic compositions regulated by alkane-water isotopic equilibrium. Substantially slower δ2H variation was observed for ethane relative to C3-C5n-alkanes, suggesting that the greater stability of C3+ alkenes and isomerization reactions may dramatically enhance rates of 2H/1H exchange in C3+n-alkanes. Thus, in reducing aqueous environments, reversible reaction of alkanes and their corresponding alkenes facilitates rapid 2H/1H exchange between water and alkyl-bound hydrogen on relatively short geological timescales at elevated temperatures and pressures. The proximity of some thermogenic and purported abiogenic alkane δ2H values to those predicted for equilibrium 2H/1H fractionation with ambient water suggests that this process may regulate the δ2H signatures of some naturally occurring hydrocarbons.
Reeves Eoghan P.
Seewald Jeffrey S.
Sylva Sean P.
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