STABLE CARBON ISOTOPE RATIOS OF CRUDE OIL EXPOSED TO ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATIONS

摘要

Crude oil is a complex mixture of thousands of different organic compounds formed from a variety of organic materials that are chemically converted under differing geological conditions over long periods of time. Oils from different sources have distinct chemical compositions, which can be used to identify the source of oil pollution. The chemical compositions of spilled oils, however, can be altered in the environment by a number of physicochemical and biological factors, making source characterization by GC or GC/MS ambiguous.