The dependence of starting materials and their initial grain sizes on the formation of gases （H2, CH4, C2H6 and C3Hs） during serpentinization was investigated by conducting hydrothermal experiments at 311℃ and 3 kb...The dependence of starting materials and their initial grain sizes on the formation of gases （H2, CH4, C2H6 and C3Hs） during serpentinization was investigated by conducting hydrothermal experiments at 311℃ and 3 kbar on olivine and peridotite with initial grain sizes ranging from 〈30 to 177 μm. Hydrocarbons （CH4, C2H6 and C3H8） were produced from reaction between dissolved CO2 in the starting fluids and HE formed during serpentinization, which were analyzed by Gas Chromatography. It was found that olivine serpentinization produced much less H2 and CH4 compared with those after peridotite alteration, while their C2H6 and C3H8 were identical. For example, for olivine with initial grain sizes of 〈30 μm, the amounts of HE and CH4 were 79.6 mmol/kg and 460 μmol/kg after 27 days, respectively. By contrast, the quantities of H2 and CH4 produced in experiment on peridotite with the same run duration were much larger, 119 mmol/kg and 1300 μmol/kg, respectively. This indicates that spinel and pyroxene in peridotite may increase the amounts of HE and hydrocarbons, possibly due to the catalytic effect of aluminum released by spinel and pyroxene during serpentinization. Moreover, the production of H2 and hydrocarbons is negatively correlated with initial grain sizes of the starting material, with smaller amounts of HE and hydrocarbons for larger initial grain sizes, indicating that the kinetics of serpentinization influences the formation of HE and hydrocarbons, possibly because of the lack of catalytic minerals for the starting material with larger grain sizes. This study suggests that olivine cannot completely represent peridotite during serpentinization, and that H2 and hydrocarbons in hydrothermal fields near the mid-ocean ridge may be produced in a very long period of serpentinization or the presence of catalytic minerals due to large grain sizes of ultramafic rocks.展开更多
基金financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant Nos.4109037341121002+2 种基金41103012 and 41173069)the Strategic Priority Research Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences(Grant No.XDB06030100)also by Postdoctoral Science Foundation of China(Grant No.2015M570735)
文摘The dependence of starting materials and their initial grain sizes on the formation of gases （H2, CH4, C2H6 and C3Hs） during serpentinization was investigated by conducting hydrothermal experiments at 311℃ and 3 kbar on olivine and peridotite with initial grain sizes ranging from 〈30 to 177 μm. Hydrocarbons （CH4, C2H6 and C3H8） were produced from reaction between dissolved CO2 in the starting fluids and HE formed during serpentinization, which were analyzed by Gas Chromatography. It was found that olivine serpentinization produced much less H2 and CH4 compared with those after peridotite alteration, while their C2H6 and C3H8 were identical. For example, for olivine with initial grain sizes of 〈30 μm, the amounts of HE and CH4 were 79.6 mmol/kg and 460 μmol/kg after 27 days, respectively. By contrast, the quantities of H2 and CH4 produced in experiment on peridotite with the same run duration were much larger, 119 mmol/kg and 1300 μmol/kg, respectively. This indicates that spinel and pyroxene in peridotite may increase the amounts of HE and hydrocarbons, possibly due to the catalytic effect of aluminum released by spinel and pyroxene during serpentinization. Moreover, the production of H2 and hydrocarbons is negatively correlated with initial grain sizes of the starting material, with smaller amounts of HE and hydrocarbons for larger initial grain sizes, indicating that the kinetics of serpentinization influences the formation of HE and hydrocarbons, possibly because of the lack of catalytic minerals for the starting material with larger grain sizes. This study suggests that olivine cannot completely represent peridotite during serpentinization, and that H2 and hydrocarbons in hydrothermal fields near the mid-ocean ridge may be produced in a very long period of serpentinization or the presence of catalytic minerals due to large grain sizes of ultramafic rocks.
