Quick Bound Biomarkers QBB

Biomarker carbon skeletons occur in both free and bound forms in sedimentary organic matter. The ratio of free to bound occurrence in source rocks is in part a function of organofacies, and thus Type I kerogen has a small bound fraction, whereas Type IIS is dominated by bound biomarkers. In contrast to free biomarkers, the bound biomarker fraction is less susceptible to contamination and biodegradation, and, therefore continues to provide key information on the organic matter source and thermal maturation of crude oils.

We have developed the micro-scale sealed vessel catalytic hydrogenation (MSSV-Hy) method (Yang et al., 2021) for releasing biomarkers from kerogen and asphaltenes.

Figure after Béhar and Vandenbroucke (1987).