Effects of short-term weathering on the stable carbon isotope compositions of crude oils and fuel oils

A short-term simulated weathering experiment was performed on two crude oils and two heavy fuel oils under natural conditions to evaluate the effects of natural weathering processes by using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry combined with gas chromatography-isotopic ratio mass spectrometry. The results of diagnostic ratios of n-alkanes show that only odd to even predominance (OEP1, OPE2) and carbon preference index (CPI) remain stabilized during the 28 d weathering process, but they cannot effectively distinguish the four types of oils. Statistical analyses based on paired sample t-test and principal component analysis (PCA) revealed that stable carbon isotope compositions of n-alkanes in the four studied oils have no significant changes over the weathering time, and that the carbon isotope discrimination (Δδ13C) of n-alkanes is < 3‰. We have provided evidence that the stable carbon isotope compositions of n-alkanes compared to n-alkanes diagnostic ratios significantly improve the efficiency and fidelity of the oil fingerprint identification.