The role of metal sulfates in thermochemical sulfate reduction (TSR) of hydrocarbons: Insight from the yields and stable carbon isotopes of gas products

For all treatments, the δ13C values of C1-5n-alkanes showed an increase with both molecular weight and treatment time. MgSO4 TSR led to a 5-10‰ increase in the δ13C values of the C1-C5 hydrocarbons and a 20‰ decrease in the δ13C value of CO2. The significant 13C depletion of the CO2 may be due to co-production of 13C enriched MgCO3, although this remains unproven as the δ13C of MgCO3 was not measured. The difference in the δ13C values of ethane and propane (Δδ13CEP) increased in magnitude with the degree of TSR, and this trend could be used to help evaluate the occurrence and extent of TSR in subsurface gas reservoirs.