Development of intramolecular isotope analysis for understanding the origin of natural gas hydrocarbons

2016 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 15K17774
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Geology
• Research Institution: Tokyo Institute of Technology
• Principal Investigator: Gilbert Alexis 東京工業大学, 理学院, 特任助教 (20726955)
• Project Period (FY): 2015-04-01 – 2017-03-31
• Keywords: Natural gas / Stable isotopes / hydrocarbons / Analytical development

Outline of Final Research Achievements

We developed a method to understand the origin of natural gas. Natural gas is made from various processes and understanding these processes has several implications, including fossil energy, origin of life and habitability of other planetary systems.
The method is based on the analysis of stable isotope ratio of carbon (13C/12C) in hydrocarbons from natural gas. Stable isotopes are used to infer the origin and history of a given molecule. The method we developed is unique and brings new type of information regarding the origin of natural gas. In particular, we were able to distinguish hydrocarbons that formed from biological organisms to those formed by chemical or inorganic means. In addition, we could understand the mechanism of formation of hydrocarbons in a Japanese hotspring (Hakuba-Happo, Japan). Overall, our work has implications to understand the origin of natural gas and will be used in the near future in other geological settings.

Free Research Field

Geochemistry