| STUDY |
New evidence for inorganic origin of oil
The origin of petroleum has long been an issue of debate. Although many people believe crude oil formed from plant and animal material in near-surface sedimentary rocks at high temperatures and pressures, an abiogenic origin has also been proposed. Developed primarily by Russian and Ukrainian researchers beginning in the 1950s, this theory attributes oil formation to inorganic carbonate rocks at high temperatures and pressures found only at great depths. Authors have predicted the thermodynamic conditions under which the hydrocarbons found in crude oil form and tested those conditions in the lab. Authors reacted iron oxide, marble (CaCO3), and water at conditions reaching 1,500 ºC and 50,000 atm. Hydrocarbons ranging from methane to decane were formed in proportions that mirror naturally occurring petroleum. With the exception of methane, hydrocarbons did not form at pressures below about 30,000 atm, which corresponds to about 100 km below Earth's surface. Taken together, the theoretical and experimental results make the biogenic theory untenable, the researchers conclude.
|