Carboxylic acids from West Siberian crudes

The concentrates of acidic compounds were recovered from the raw crudes by extraction with a 2% solution of potassium hydroxide in 50% ethanol; the concentrates were then treated to remove neutral substances present as impurities and were separated into phenols and carboxylic acids by means of silica gel modified with caustic. The methyl and trimethylsilyl (TMS) esters of the carboxylic acids were analyzed by chromatography/mass spectrometry. It is assumed that in the West Siberian fields, along with catagenic processes, microbiological degradation processes are taking place. After a sample of Fedorovsk crude had been exposed to the bacterial action (60 days at 32/sup 0/C) of an accumulated culture of sulfate-reducing bacteria, followed by dehydration of the sample, the relative content of straight-chain fatty acids with an even number of carbon atoms had increased. There was a sharp increase in the contents of palmitic, palmitoleic, and oleic acids, which are characteristic products of the metabolism of microorganisms.