Abstract
ABSTRACTA series of anhydrous closed-system pyrolysis experiments were performed on pure pristane and octacosane and a sample from the Maoming oil shale to measure the effect of thermal maturation on pristane and phytane carbon isotopic fractionation compared with individual n-alkanes. The result showed that pyrolysis of pure pristane and octacosane caused 1.8‰ and 5.1‰ increase in δ13C values, respectively. Experiments on the oil shale sample showed 2.0‰ and 2.2‰ variations in pristane and phytane δ13C values, respectively, but an average 5.5‰ enrichment in 13C for the individual n-alkanes. This indicates that the effect of thermal maturation on pristane and phytane δ13C values is weaker compared with n-alkanes. The results further suggest that the stable carbon isotopic distribution of pristane and phytane can be used as a correlation tool.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
