Compound-specific stable carbon isotopic composition of petroleum hydrocarbons as a tool for tracing the source of oil spills

With the increasing demand for and consumption of crude oils, oil spill accidents happen frequently during the transportation of crude oils and oil products, and the environmental hazard they pose has become increasingly serious in China. The exact identification of the source of spilled oil can act as forensic evidence in the investigation and handling of oil spill accidents. In this study, a weathering simulation experiment demonstrates that the mass loss of crude oils caused by short-term weathering mainly occurs within the first 24 h after a spill, and is dominated by the depletion of low-molecular weight hydrocarbons (<C18 n-alkanes). Short-term weathering has no significant effect on δ13C values of individual n-alkanes (C12–C33), suggesting that a stable carbon isotope profile of n-alkanes can be a useful tool for tracing the source of an oil spill, particularly for weathered oils or those with a relatively low concentration or absence of sterane and terpane biomarkers.