Raman Spectroscopy Study on Chemical Transformations of Propane at High Temperatures and High Pressures

Daniil A Kudryavtsev; Timofey М Fedotenko; Egor G Koemets; Saiana E Khandarkhaeva; Vladimir G Kutcherov; Leonid S Dubrovinsky

doi:10.1038/s41598-020-58520-7

Raman Spectroscopy Study on Chemical Transformations of Propane at High Temperatures and High Pressures

Sci Rep. 2020 Jan 30;10(1):1483. doi: 10.1038/s41598-020-58520-7.

Authors

Daniil A Kudryavtsev¹, Timofey М Fedotenko², Egor G Koemets², Saiana E Khandarkhaeva², Vladimir G Kutcherov^{3

4}, Leonid S Dubrovinsky²

Affiliations

¹ KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden. daniilk@kth.se.
² University of Bayreuth, Bayreuth, Germany.
³ KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden.
⁴ Gubkin Russian State University of Oil and Gas (National Research University), Moscow, Russia.

Abstract

This study is devoted to the detailed in situ Raman spectroscopy investigation of propane C₃H₈ in laser-heated diamond anvil cells in the range of pressures from 3 to 22 GPa and temperatures from 900 to 3000 K. We show that propane, while being exposed to particular thermobaric conditions, could react, leading to the formation of hydrocarbons, both saturated and unsaturated as well as soot. Our results suggest that propane could be a precursor of heavy hydrocarbons and will produce more than just sooty material when subjected to extreme conditions. These results could clarify the issue of the presence of heavy hydrocarbons in the Earth's upper mantle.