Fate of hopane biomarkers during in-situ burning of crude oil - A laboratory-scale study

Abstract

In-situ burning (ISB) is a remediation strategy that is used for managing oil spills. ISB generates heavy residues that can submerge and negatively impact benthic environments. To track the fate of toxic contaminants in ISB residues, a conservative hopane biomarker, such as C₃₀-αβ hopane, is often used. Furthermore, diagnostic ratios of various hopanes are used for source oil identification. Use of these biomarkers assume that during ISB the quantity of C₃₀-αβ hopane will be conserved, and the diagnostic ratios of various hopanes will be stable. The objective of this study is to test the validity of these two assumptions. We conducted laboratory-scale ISB experiments using a model oil prepared from commercial C₃₀-αβ hopane standard, and a reference crude oil. Laboratory data collected under controlled burning conditions show that C₃₀-αβ hopane will not be conserved; however, the diagnostic ratios of hopanes will still remain fairly stable.

Keywords: Chemical fingerprinting; Hopane biomarker; In-situ burning.