Name Shabbir Hussain

Class Bs Geology 6th

Enroll# 01-161111-035

Teacher Sir Anwar Qadir

Assignment about:

Where does petroleum come from?

“Inorgenic Hypothesis Of Origin Of Hydro-Carbons”

Finding The Origin:

The precise details regarding the twin problems of origin, and migration and
accumulation of petroleum have yet to be fully answered. Recent advances in analytical
chemistry and geochemistry have advanced the knowledge and understanding, but
issues remain to be resolved. The oil pool is an end product to a 5-stage sequence of
events: raw materials, accumulation, transformation, migration and geologic time. A
better understanding of how accumulation and transformation take place would help
clarify the whole process. But the complication is that Petroleums are complex mixtures
of many hydrocarbons occurring in homologous series with no two Petroleums exactly
alike in composition.

“the elemental chemical analysis indicates 10-15% hydrogen and 82-87% carbon
by weight”

Any theory regarding the origin of petroleum must explain two sets of observations.

1) Geological
2) Chemical

Geological observations are that major accumulations:

1) Occur in sedimentary rocks

2) are characteristic of unmetamorphosed marine (shallow, deep water) and
continental sediments, and
3) occur in porous material totally encapsulated from other porous material.

Theories Of Origin:

There are two theories of origin:

1) Organic (bionic)
2) Inorganic (abionic).

Inorgenic Theory:

a) Deep Seated Hypothesis

b) Extra terrestrial hypothesis

Deep Seated Hypothesis:

From as early as 1877, Dmitri Mendele'ev, a Russian who developed the periodic table,
postulated an inorganic origin when it became apparent that there were widespread
deposits of petroleum throughout the world. He reasoned that metallic carbides deep
within Earth reacted with water at high temperatures to form acetylene (C2H2). This
acetylene condensed to form heavier hydrocarbons. This reaction can be easily
performed under laboratory conditions.

This theory was modified by Berthelot in 1860 and by Mendele'ev in 1902. Their theory
was that the mantle of the earth contained iron carbide which would react with
percolating water to form methane:

FeC2 + 2H2O = CH4 + FeO2

Extra terrestrial hypothesis.

In 1890, Sokoloff proposed a cosmic origin for petroleum. His theory was that
hydrocarbons precipitated as rain from original nebular matter from which the solar
system was formed. The hydrocarbons were then ejected from earth's interior onto
surface rocks.

Interest in this inorganic theory heightened in the 20th Century as a result of two
discoveries: The existence of carbonaceous chondrites (meteorites) and the discovery
that atmospheres containing methane exists for some celestial bodies such as Saturn,
Titan, Jupiter. The only known source for methane would be through inorganic
reactions.

It has been postulated that the original atmosphere of earth contained methane,
ammonia, hydrogen and water vapor which could result is the creation of an oily, waxy
surface layer that may have been host to a variety of developing prebiotic compounds
including the precursors of life as a result of photochemical reactions (due to UV
radiation).

The discovery (Mueller, 1963) of a type of meteorite called carbonaceous chondrites,

also led to a renewed interest in an inorganic mechanism for creating organic
compounds. Chondritic meteorites contain greater than 6% organic matter (not graphite)
and traces of various hydrocarbons including amino acids.

The chief support of an inorganic origin is that the hydrocarbons methane, ethane,
acetylene, and benzene have repeatedly been made from inorganic sources. For
example, congealed magma has been found on the Kola Peninsula in Russia
(Petersil'ye, 1962) containing gaseous and liquid hydrocarbons (90% methane, traces of
ethane, propane,
isobutane). Paraffinic hydrocarbons have also been found in other igneous rocks
(Evans, Morton, and Cooper, 1964).
Which One Is Valid?

Both hypothesis are on debate. we cannot marked single one as a Principle.

Both have lack of evidences to become true.

Deep seated hypothesis has lack of evidences of existing “Iron Carbide” in the mantle.

And

On industry level we found oil & gas in sedimentary rocks,sedimentary basins.

Though the hydrocarbons can be made in laboratory under deep seated conditions.

“reactions between carbonates and water or water-bearing minerals was carried out at
the pressure of about 1 GPa and the temperature range of 800–1500°C. The reactions
took place in an open and nonequilibrium state. Chromatographic analyses of the gas
products indicate that in the experiments there were generated CH4-dominated
hydrocarbons, along with some CO2 and CO. Accordingly, we think there is no essential
distinction between free-state water and hydroxy in the minerals in the process of
hydrocarbon formation. This study indicates that reactions between carbonates and
water or water-bearing minerals should be an important factor leading to the formation
of abiogenetic hydrocarbons at the Earth's depth.”

But problem is how they migrated to large pools of hydrocarbons in sedimentary rocks.

And extraterritorial hypothesis has much lack of evidences.

Firstly, there is no direct evidence that will show whether the source of the organic
material in the chondritic meteorites is the result of a truly inorganic origin or was in an
original parent material which was organically created. Similar reasoning applies to
other celestial bodies.

Secondly, there is no field evidence that inorganic processes have occurred in nature,
yet there is mounting evidence for an organic origin.

And thirdly, there should be large amounts of hydrocarbons emitted from

volcanoes,congealed magma, and other igneous rocks if an inorganic origin is the
primary methodology for the creation of hydrocarbons. Gaseous hydrocarbons have
been recorded (White and Waring, 1963) emanating from volcanoes, with methane
(CH4) the most common. Volumes are generally less than 1%, but as high as 15% have
been
recorded. But the large pools are absent from igneous rocks. Where commercial
accumulations do occur, they are in igneous rocks that have intruded into or are
overlain by sedimentary materials; in other words, the hydrocarbons probably formed in
the sedimentary sequence and migrated into the igneous material.

Conclusion:

No final decision can be made yet,, because both hypothesis are on debate and
observations.

Deep seated hypothesis was presented by father of chemistry and very well known
chemist,scientist Dmitri Mendele'ev has more weight than extraterrestrial. So some how
deep seated is much over than extraterrestrial due to its some available observations and
experiments.

But at industry level organic theory is much applicable.

Refrences:

 National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 49673199).

 Canil, D. and C. M. Scarfe, 1990. Phase relations in peridotite+CO2 systems to
12 GPa: implications for the origin of kimberlite and carbonate stability in the
Earth's upper mantle: J. G. R., v. 95 (B10), p. 15805–15816.
 Dai Jinxing, Shong Yan, Dai Chunsheng et al., 1995, Abiogenetic gases and gas
reservoir formation conditions in East China: Beijing, Science Press, 212p. (in
Chinese)
 hipster_dufus

 Geophysical Laboratory, Carnegie Institution of Washington, Washington, District

of Columbia 20015, USA
 Lomonosov Moscow State Academy of Fine Chemical Technology, 117571
Moscow, Russia
 Royal Institute of Technology, SE-100 44 Stockholm, Sweden
 (Evans, Morton, and Cooper, 1964).