Abstract
The high concentrations of hydrogen sulfide found in many oil and gas fields is thought to arise from the oxidation of petroleum hydrocarbons by sulfate—a reaction that reduces the value of the resource. This review, undertaken in order to better understand the geochemistry of TSR reaction in oil field sediments, covers the relevant information on thermochemical sulfate reduction (TSR) to 1991. The theoretical and experimental aspects of TSR reactions (including sulfur and carbon isotope studies) are reviewed and their significance to the geochemical system discussed. The present review agrees with previous suggestions that biochemical reduction of sulfate dominates in sedimentary environments below 120°C, and supports the possibility that reactive sulfur species will oxidize certain organic molecules at meaningful rates in geochemically reasonable reaction periods at temperatures above 175°C. We conclude that under typical petroleum reservoir reaction conditions, both elemental sulfur and polysulfides are capable of oxidizing some organic molecules under basic conditions. But that sulfate alone will not react unless lower oxidation state sulfur is present. The possible interaction of low-valence-state sulfur with sulfate to form TSR active oxidants is examined. both H2S and SO 2−4 are required for the formation of active polysufide reductants (e.g. thiosulfate or polythionates) in TSR systems. Such intermediates can serve to lower the overall activation energy of the oxidation of hydrocarbons by sulfate via thermal generation of sulfur radicals that can function as TSR active oxidants in many oil field sediments. We suggest that some proposed chemical mechanisms for TSR need to be experimentally verified and the results re-interpreted with respect to TSR relations in geologic systems.
Zusammenfassung
Die hohe Konzentration von Schwefelwasserstoff, die man in zahlreichen Öl- und Gasfeldern findet, wird der Oxidation von Petrol-Kohlenwasserstoffen durch Sulfat zugeschrieben, einer Reaktion, die den Wert der Vorkommen reduziert. Vorliegender Rückblick, der einem besseren Verständnis der Geochemie von TSR-Reaktionen in Ölfeldsedimenten dienen soll, umfaßt die relevanten Informationen von thermochemischen Sulfatreduktionen (TSR) bis zum Jahre 1991. Es wird ein Überblick über theoretische und praktische Aspekte von TSR-Reaktionen (einschließlich der Untersuchungen von Schwefel- und Kohlenstoffisotope) gegeben und ihre Bedeutung für geochemische Systeme diskutiert. Dieser Überblick stimmt mit vorangehenden Überlegungen dahingehend überein, daß die biochemische Reduktion von Sulfaten in sedimentärer Umgebung unter 120°C dominiert und die Möglichkeit unterstützt, daß reaktionsfreudige Schwefelverbindungen bestimmte organische Moleküle oberhalb 175°C in geochemisch sinnvollen Reaktionszeiten in beträchtlichem Ausmaße oxidieren. Es wurde geschlußfolgert, daß sowohl elementarer Schwefel als auch Polysulfide unter typischen Petrollagerstättenbedingungen in der Lage sind, einige organische Moleküle zu oxidieren, daß aber Sulfat allein nicht reagiert, solange kein Schwefel mit niedrigerer Oxidationsstufe vorhanden ist. Es wird die Möglichkeit einer Wechselwirkung zwischen niedervalentem Schwefel und Sulfat geprüft, die zur Bildung TSR-aktiver Oxidantien führt. In TSR-Systemen ist sowohl die Gegenwart von H2S als auch von SO4 2− ist für die Bildung aktiver Polysulfid-Reduktionsmittel (z.B. Thiosulfat oder Polythionat) erforderlich. Derartige Zwischenprodukte können über die thermische Generierung von Schwefelradikalen, die in zahlreichen Ölfeldsedimenten als TSR-aktive Oxidantien fungieren können, zu einer Herabsetzung der resultierenden Aktivierungsenergie der Oxidation von Kohlenwasserstoffen durch Sulfat führen. Es wird darauf hingedeutet, daß einige für TSR vorgeschlagene chemische Mechanismen experimentell überprüft und die Ergebnisse im Hinblick auf TSR-Reaktionen in geologischen Systemen neu interpretiert werden sollten.
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Dedicated to Professor Lisa Heller-Kallai on the occasion of her 65th birthday
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Goldstein, T.P., Aizenshtat, Z. Thermochemical sulfate reduction a review. Journal of Thermal Analysis 42, 241–290 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02547004
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02547004