C12−C30 n-alkylbenzenes in crude oils*

Summary o 1. A study of crude oils from various regions of the Soviet Union showed that the composition of monocyclic aromatic fractions of most oils is represented by alkylbenzenes with normal alkyl chain, which may form 40 wt.% of individual fractions. 2. GLC, and mass spectrometry and comparison with model hydrocarbons established the presence of mono-alkylbenzenes, methylalkylbenzenes, ethylalkylbenzenes with o-, m- and p -position of substituents in the ring and all the six isomers of tri-substituted alkylbenzenes. The side chain is normal in each case. 3. Thermocatalytic cracking of known fatty acids and alcohols showed that these compounds may be regarded as the probable precursors of petroleum alkylbenzenes.