Chemical Fingerprints of Alberta Oil Sands and Related Petroleum Products

Presence and Distribution of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Sediment Contaminated With Tar Sands Crude Oil

“…Pyrene is seen in moderate concentrations in this study and in very high concentrations in previous studies at this site and with Athabasca tar sands (Al-Isawi, 2016, Yang et. al, 2011.…”

“…Anthracene, for example is a straight, three-ring structure ( Figure 5). One of these rings could be removed by bacterium such as Sphingomonas and Pseudomonas, leaving the chemical structure with two benzene rings, as seen in naphthalene (Zhang et al, 2006 Acenaphthylene and anthracene are not found in the unprocessed tar sands oil, however, they are found in diluted bitumen that is produced in the Athabasca oil field (Yang et. Al, 2011).…”

“…Biomarkers for the raw Athabasca tar sands oil field in Alberta, Canada, for example, include acenaphthene, flouranthene, and pyrene (Yang et al, 2011). Biomarkers for the solvents used to transport Athabasca crude consist of acenaphthylene and anthracene (Yang et al, 2011). All of these compounds are known to bioaccumulate and persist in the environment for long periods of time (Jiayu,N., and Jianyi,H., 1999).…”

“…Each source of tar sands oil has its own combination of PAHs that act as its finger print; these are called biomarkers. Biomarkers for the raw Athabasca tar sands oil field in Alberta, Canada, for example, include acenaphthene, flouranthene, and pyrene (Yang et al, 2011). Biomarkers for the solvents used to transport Athabasca crude consist of acenaphthylene and anthracene (Yang et al, 2011).…”

Stability of polycyclic aromatic compounds in polyurethane foam-type passive air samplers upon O3 exposure

“…bitumen and upgrading activities) sources, these compounds are ubiquitous and potentially carcinogenic and mutagenic. (Baird et al, 2005) Compared to pyrogenic sources, chemical composition of bitumen is relatively enriched with alkPACs, DBT, and alk-DBTs, (Hawthorne et al, 2006;Yang et al, 2011) therefore, they are used as an indicator of petrogenic sources.…”