Sulfur speciation in heavy petroleums: Information from X-ray absorption near-edge structure

Journal Article · Fri Mar 01 04:00:00 EST 1991 · Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta; (United States)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/0016-7037(91)90343-4· OSTI ID:6082762

Waldo, G S; Penner-Hahn, J E ^[1]; Carlson, R M.K.; Moldowan, J M; Peters, K E ^[2]

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1. Univ. of Michigan, Ann Arbor (United States)
2. Chevron Oil Field Research Co., Richmond, CA (United States)

The chemical speciation of sulfur in heavy petroleums, petroleum source rock extracts, and source rock pyrolysis products was studied using X-ray absorption near-edge structure (XANES) spectroscopy. The good energy resolution (ca. 0.5 eV) at the sulfur K edge and the strong dependence of XANES on the sulfur environment combine to give excellent sensitivity to changes in the electronic and structural environment of the sulfur. This has permitted identification and approximate quantitation of different classes of sulfur-containing compounds (e.g., sulfur, sulfides (including disulfides and polysulfides as a group), thiopenes, sulfoxides, sulfones, sulfinic acids, sulfonic acids, and sulfate) in a series of petroleums and petroleum source rocks. The authors results indicate that the sulfur speciation of geological samples can be correlated with differences in source depositional environment, thermal maturity, and aromaticity. They report organosulfur compositions for the asphaltene, maltene, and liquid chromatographic fractions of two sulfur-rich oils. In addition, they find that the organosulfur species in some, but not all, oils are subject to oxidation upon storage and thus may also be susceptible to oxidation in shallow reservoirs exposed to oxic waters. This work illustrates the utility of XANES as a direct spectroscopic probe for the quantitative determination of sulfur species in geological samples.

• OSTI ID: 6082762
• Journal Information: Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta; (United States), Journal Name: Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta; (United States) Vol. 55:3; ISSN GCACA; ISSN 0016-7037
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

02 PETROLEUM
023000* -- Petroleum-- Properties & Composition
58 GEOSCIENCES
580000 -- Geosciences
ABSORPTION
CHEMICAL ANALYSIS
CHEMICAL COMPOSITION
CHEMICAL REACTIONS
CHEMISTRY
ELECTRONIC STRUCTURE
ELEMENTS
ENERGY SOURCES
FOSSIL FUELS
FUELS
GEOCHEMISTRY
MOLECULAR STRUCTURE
NONMETALS
OXIDATION
PETROLEUM
QUANTITATIVE CHEMICAL ANALYSIS
SOURCE ROCKS
SPECTROSCOPY
SULFUR
SULFUR COMPOUNDS
X-RAY SPECTROSCOPY