Hydrocarbon reserves are self-healing!

The theory of inorganic origin of hydrocarbons was experimentally confirmed by our compatriots at the Carnegie Institute.

Ethane and heavy hydrocarbons can be synthesized in the upper mantle at a certain pressure and temperature!
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Methane (CH4) is the main “component” of natural gas, ethane (C2H6) is used as a petrochemical feedstock. These hydrocarbons, as well as other substances associated with the fuel, are called saturated hydrocarbons. Recently, using a diamond chamber and a laser heat source, scientists first brought methane to a pressure 20,000 times higher than the atmospheric pressure at sea level and to a temperature of 1.330 - 2.240 F ° (721 - 1337 ° C), which is exactly the same figures at a depth of 40-95 miles below the crust. As a result, methane (CH4) was converted to ethane, propane, butane, molecular hydrogen and graphite, and ethane (C2H6) was converted to methane under the same conditions. Such transformations have allowed scientists to assume that deep deposits of heavy hydrocarbons may be deep beneath the surface. In fact, this means that the synthesis of saturated hydrocarbons can be controlled thermodynamically and take place without the participation of organic substances.

“We were intrigued by the results of previous experiments and theoretical developments,” Alexander Gorchakov shares his impressions. “Experiments a few years ago showed that methane at high pressure and temperature turns into heavy hydrocarbons. However, the resulting molecules for a long time could not be identified, but we solved this problem by improving the laser technology so that we can process large volumes of gas more evenly.

Professor Kucherov: “The notion that hydrocarbons produced in the mantle“ migrate ”to the Earth's crust and contribute to the formation of oil and gas, appeared in Russia and in Ukraine many years ago. Now it is important to study the synthesis, the stability of both the compounds obtained in the laboratory, and the heavy hydrocarbons formed in the depths of the mantle of the planet. In addition, it is necessary to establish how this “reduced” carbon experiences “migration” to the upper layers (for example, without oxidation to CO2). These, as well as many other questions, require new experiments and the development of theoretical programs aimed at studying the "fate" of carbon inside the Earth.

The study was conducted in the Geophysical Laboratory of the Carnegie Institute with the participation of scientists from Russia and Sweden, was published on July 26 in Nature Geoscience.