Volcanic processes and synthesis of simple organic compounds on primitive Earth

Mukhin, L. M.

doi:10.1007/bf00927931

Cited by 37 publications

(39 citation statements)

References 4 publications

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“…On the primitive Earth, underwater volcanic processes provided energy and material for the synthesis of organic compounds; due to large pressure and temperature gradients, underwater volcanoes or hydrothermal systems favor the survival, in their close vicinities, of the organic compounds formed (Mukhin, 1976;Koonin, 2012).…”

Section: Active Tectonicsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Habitability Properties of Circumbinary Planets

Shevchenko

2017

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It is shown that several habitability conditions (in fact, at least seven such conditions) appear to be fulfilled automatically by circumbinary planets of main-sequence stars (CBP-MS), whereas on Earth these conditions are fulfilled only by chance. Therefore, it looks natural that most of the production of replicating biopolymers in the Galaxy is concentrated on particular classes of CBP-MS, and life on Earth is an outlier, in this sense. In this scenario, Lathe's mechanism for the tidal "chain reaction" abiogenesis on Earth is favored as generic for CBP-MS, due to photo-tidal synchronization inherent to them. Problems with this scenario are discussed in detail.

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Section: Active Tectonicsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Habitability Properties of Circumbinary Planets

Shevchenko

2017

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“…Zinc sulfide is a very powerful photocatalyst that, besides reducing CO 2 , is capable of driving diverse reactions of carbon-and nitrogen-containing substrates [144,150,152,[190][191][192]. Such substrates could build up in the atmosphere, be generated by photochemical reactions in the water phase [24,106,109], accompany volcanic extrusions [193] and hydrothermal fluids [123], or be brought by meteorites [194]. They could have then participated in further photocatalyzed transformations at the ZnS surfaces.…”

Section: Zns-mediated Photosynthesismentioning

confidence: 99%

Inorganic Polyphosphate Modulates TRPM8 Channels

Trimm¹

2011

Inorganic Chemistry

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“…Hydrogen and carbon monoxide, which some investigators believe were present in the early atmosphere at relatively high concentrations [Kasting, 1993], may also have been involved in organic synthesis in volcanic gas-air mixtures. Therefore it is possible that synthesis in cooling volcanic gases could have contributed to the production of organic compounds that many investigators believe were required for the origin and development of life [see also Mukhin, 1976 The energetic drive to form hydrocarbons rises in systems with high cooling/dilution ratios. The highest ratio corresponds to the cooling of trapped gases (this scenario avoids dilution and oxidation by air) and yields the highest thermodynamic drive for synthesis and the highest possible hydrocarbon saturation temperatures.…”

Section: Implications For Natural Occurrences Of Hydrocarbons In Volcmentioning

confidence: 99%

A thermodynamic assessment of the potential synthesis of condensed hydrocarbons during cooling and dilution of volcanic gases

Zolotov¹,

Shock²

2000

J. Geophys. Res.

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Abstract. The possibility for abiotic synthesis of condensed hydrocarbons in cooling/diluting terrestrial volcanic gases has been evaluated on the basis of the consideration of roetastable chemical equilibria involving gaseous CO, CO2, H2 and H20. The stabilities of n-alkanes and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) have been evaluated for several typical volcanic gas compositions under various conditions for cooling/diluting of quenched volcanic gas. The modeling shows that n-alkanes and PAHs have a thermodynamic potential to form metastably from H2 and CO below -250øC within the stability field of graphite.Despite the predominance of CO2 in volcanic gases, synthesis of hydrocarbons from CO2 and H2 is less favored energetically than from CO and H2. Both low temperature and a high H/C atomic ratio in volcanic gas generally favor stability of hydrocarbons with higher H/C ratios.PAHs are thennodynamically stable at temperatures -10ø-50øC higher than large n-alkanes; however, at lower temperatures, PAHs and n-alkanes have similar stabilities and are likely to form metastable mixtures. Both the energetic drive to form hydrocarbons and possible temperatures of formation increase as the oxidation state (fO2) of the volcanic gases decreases and as the cooling/dilution ratios of volcanic gases increase. Synthesis of hydrocarbons is energetically more likely in cooling trapped gases than in ashcloud eruptive columns. Mechanisms for hydrocarbon formation may include Fischer-Tropsch-type synthesis catalyzed by magnetite from solid volcanic products. On the early Earth, Mars, and Jupiter's satellite Europa, several factors would have provided more favorable conditions for hydrocarbon synthesis in volcanic gases than under current terrestrial conditions and might have contributed to the production of organic compounds required for the emergence of life.

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Volcanic processes and synthesis of simple organic compounds on primitive Earth

Cited by 37 publications

References 4 publications

Habitability Properties of Circumbinary Planets

Habitability Properties of Circumbinary Planets

Inorganic Polyphosphate Modulates TRPM8 Channels

A thermodynamic assessment of the potential synthesis of condensed hydrocarbons during cooling and dilution of volcanic gases

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