Biomarker (petroleum)

Biomarker (petroleum)

Biomarkers are any of a suite of complex organic compounds composed of carbon, hydrogen and other elements (and physical and geochemical characteristics thereof) which are found in oil, bitumen, rocks and sediments and show little or no change in structure from their parent organic molecules in living organisms. These compounds are typically analyzed using gas chromatography or mass spectrometry. Most of them are isopentenoids (5 carbons). Some examples of biomarkers are pristane, phytane, steranes, triterpanes and porphyrin. Petroleum geologists maintain that the presence of these biomarkers in all samples of petroleum to date indicates the biological involvement in the formation of petroleum.

"They are complex molecules derived from formerly living organisms." (Wang, Z.; Stout, S.; Fingas, M. Environmental Forensics, 2006 7, 105-146.


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