Organic-Inorganic Interaction Recorded by Polycyclic Aromatic Steranes in Continental Epithermal Ore Deposits
Huiyuan XU
State Key Laboratory of Shale Oil and Gas Enrichment Mechanisms and Effective Development, Beijing, 100083 China
Petroleum Exploration & Production Research Institute, SINOPEC, Beijing, 100083 China
Search for more papers by this authorCorresponding Author
Quanyou LIU
State Key Laboratory of Shale Oil and Gas Enrichment Mechanisms and Effective Development, Beijing, 100083 China
Institute of Energy, School of Earth and Space Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, 100871 China
Corresponding author. E-mail: [email protected]Search for more papers by this authorZhijun JIN
State Key Laboratory of Shale Oil and Gas Enrichment Mechanisms and Effective Development, Beijing, 100083 China
Petroleum Exploration & Production Research Institute, SINOPEC, Beijing, 100083 China
Institute of Energy, School of Earth and Space Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, 100871 China
Search for more papers by this authorDongya ZHU
State Key Laboratory of Shale Oil and Gas Enrichment Mechanisms and Effective Development, Beijing, 100083 China
Petroleum Exploration & Production Research Institute, SINOPEC, Beijing, 100083 China
Search for more papers by this authorQingqiang MENG
State Key Laboratory of Shale Oil and Gas Enrichment Mechanisms and Effective Development, Beijing, 100083 China
Petroleum Exploration & Production Research Institute, SINOPEC, Beijing, 100083 China
Search for more papers by this authorPengpeng LI
Institute of Energy, School of Earth and Space Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, 100871 China
Search for more papers by this authorBiqing ZHU
Institute of Energy, School of Earth and Space Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, 100871 China
Search for more papers by this authorHuiyuan XU
State Key Laboratory of Shale Oil and Gas Enrichment Mechanisms and Effective Development, Beijing, 100083 China
Petroleum Exploration & Production Research Institute, SINOPEC, Beijing, 100083 China
Search for more papers by this authorCorresponding Author
Quanyou LIU
State Key Laboratory of Shale Oil and Gas Enrichment Mechanisms and Effective Development, Beijing, 100083 China
Institute of Energy, School of Earth and Space Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, 100871 China
Corresponding author. E-mail: [email protected]Search for more papers by this authorZhijun JIN
State Key Laboratory of Shale Oil and Gas Enrichment Mechanisms and Effective Development, Beijing, 100083 China
Petroleum Exploration & Production Research Institute, SINOPEC, Beijing, 100083 China
Institute of Energy, School of Earth and Space Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, 100871 China
Search for more papers by this authorDongya ZHU
State Key Laboratory of Shale Oil and Gas Enrichment Mechanisms and Effective Development, Beijing, 100083 China
Petroleum Exploration & Production Research Institute, SINOPEC, Beijing, 100083 China
Search for more papers by this authorQingqiang MENG
State Key Laboratory of Shale Oil and Gas Enrichment Mechanisms and Effective Development, Beijing, 100083 China
Petroleum Exploration & Production Research Institute, SINOPEC, Beijing, 100083 China
Search for more papers by this authorPengpeng LI
Institute of Energy, School of Earth and Space Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, 100871 China
Search for more papers by this authorBiqing ZHU
Institute of Energy, School of Earth and Space Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, 100871 China
Search for more papers by this authorAbout the first author:
XU Huiyuan, male, born in 1989 in Zhengzhou, Henan Province; Ph.D. in petroleum geochemistry; graduated from Macquarie University, Australia; research associate of Petroleum Exploration and Product Research Institute of Sinopec. He is now interested in the molecular geochemistry and organic-inorganic interactions. E-mail: [email protected].
About the corresponding author:
LIU Quanyou, male, born in 1975 in Shuozhou, Shanxi Province; Ph.D. in geology and geochemistry; graduated from Lanzhou Geological Research Centre, Chinese Academy of Sciences; chair professor of Institute of Energy, School of Earth and Space Sciences, Peking University. He is now interested in the influence of deep crust–mantle organic-inorganic interactions on carbon cycling, hydrocarbon and mineral enrichment in the context of multi-sphere interactions. Email: [email protected].
Abstract
Continental epithermal ore deposits are commonly associated with sedimentary organic matter, oils or solid bitumen. These organics embedded in mineral deposits can convey valuable information of the ore genesis. However, the extent to which the formation of ore minerals was recorded by organic compounds remains largely unknown, as also is how metal-rich ores interfere with the molecular proxies in the temperature regime envisaged for hydrothermal activity. The molecular compositional changes of various polycyclic aromatic steranes and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and compounds derived from the Jinding Pb/Zn deposit, SW China provide new data. Aliphatic regular steranes are present as traces. The transformation from polycyclic aromatic steranes to unsubstituted polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons is observed to show an increased trend with increasing hydrothermal alteration levels; this is consistent with the transformation from unsubstituted polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons to heterocyclic compounds. Dehydrocyclization (aromatization) of polycyclic biological compounds and hydrodecyclization (dearomatization) of polycyclic aromatic compounds are two important reaction pathways in hydrothermal systems with moderate temperature. This detailed investigation of organic-inorganic interactions of two groups of polycyclic compounds with metal-rich ores provides insights into the questions on how and to what extent the formation of Pb/Zn deposits can be recorded by organics. This work will improve our understanding of carbon reduction, oxidation or condensation in the deep Earth and the carbon exchange between the Earth's crust and mantle, and may shed light on the processes for ultra-deep hydrocarbon exploration.
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