We describe the design and performance of an electron-impact ion beam reflectron system coupled to our ‘‘single-photon infrared emission spectrometer’’ for measurement of infrared emission from excited gas-phase polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon ~PAH! cations. This experiment provides for direct comparison of laboratory infrared emission spectra of gaseous ionized PAHs with the ‘‘unidentified inf...

here two atoms recombine thus forming a diatomic molecule that can be either chemisorbed or reflected in the gas-phase in a given internal energy state. Reactions (1)-(2) are very often the rate determining step of complex heterogeneous systems of interest in different branches of industrial and technological applications, as for example in the ammonia synthesis, hydrocarbon production, chemica...

Marine hydrocarbon seepage emits oil and gas, including methane ( approximately 30 Tg of CH(4) per year), to the ocean and atmosphere. Sediments from the California margin contain preserved tar, primarily formed through hydrocarbon weathering at the sea surface. We present a record of variation in the abundance of tar in sediments for the past 32,000 years, providing evidence for increases in h...

Horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing have enhanced energy production but raised concerns about drinking-water contamination and other environmental impacts. Identifying the sources and mechanisms of contamination can help improve the environmental and economic sustainability of shale-gas extraction. We analyzed 113 and 20 samples from drinking-water wells overlying the Marcellus and Bar...

The gas hydrate petroleum system in the permafrost of the Qilian Mountains, which exists as an epigenetic hydrocarbon reservoir above a deep-seated hydrocarbon reservoir, has been dynamic since the end of the Late Pleistocene because of climate change. The permafrost limits the occurrence of gas hydrate reservoirs by changing the pressure-temperature (P-T) conditions, and it affects the migrati...

The recently developed technique of field-induced droplet ionization (FIDI) is applied to study interfacial chemistry of a single droplet. In a new variation of the FIDI method, 1-2-mm-diameter droplets hang from a capillary and undergo heterogeneous reactions between solution-phase analytes and gas-phase species. Following a specified reaction time, the application of a high electric field ind...

The evaluation of the exploration risk in the oil industry is a fundamental component of the decision process related to the exploratory phase. In this paper the two basic components of the exploratory risk: trap geometry and trapped hydrocarbon quantities (fluid), are compounded in a single coherent uncertainty and sensitivity approach. The results clarify that the model geometry influences ea...

Based on the {S+, I-} pathway, the concentration of surfactant and surface charge density of silanolate groups control the phase transition from lamellar, to hexagonal through cubic form. The high surface charge density of silanolate groups was observed for the lamellar phase. With decrease of molar concentration of surfactant on the gel, the yield of...

Low-energy ion-surface collisions of methyl cation at hydrocarbon and fluorocarbon self-assembled monolayer (SAM) surfaces produce extensive neutralization of CH3+. These experimental observations are reported together with the results obtained for ion-surface collisions with the molecular ions of benzene, styrene, 3-fluorobenzonitrile, 1,3,5-triazine, and ammonia on the same surfaces. For comp...