Fingerprinting of crude oil spills

Abstract The use of a two-step microlumn of silica gel and aluminium oxide for the fractionation of crude oil spills is described. The 3–4 and 5–6-ring polynuclear aroamtic hydrocarbon fractions were used to identify eleven crude oils according to their areas of origin and individually. Fractionation by thin-layer chromatography was also studied and the results are compared with those obtained on the microcolumn.