Hydrocarbons, which are an essential component of crude oil and natural gas, form under pressure and high temperatures in the deep ocean floor. In the Guaymas Basin in the Gulf of California, researchers have detected hydrocarbon gas patterns that could not have been generated by known formation pathways. In their study, which has now been published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), they describe a new pathway for the formation of two of the main components of natural gas, ethane and propane, via reduction of acetic acid. The team, comprising researchers from MARUM—Center for Marine Environmental Sciences at the University of Bremen and the University of North Carolina, has investigated the isotopic signatures and simulated hydrocarbon formation in laboratory experiments.
Click here for original story, In a laboratory experiment, researchers simulate alternative hydrocarbon formation through reduction of acetic acid
Source: Phys.org