Foustoukos Dionysis I, Seyfried William E
Department of Geology and Geophysics, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA.
Science. 2004 May 14;304(5673):1002-5. doi: 10.1126/science.1096033. Epub 2004 Apr 1.
Fischer-Tropsch type (FTT) synthesis has long been proposed to account for the existence of hydrocarbons in hydrothermal fluids. We show that iron- and chromium-bearing minerals catalyze the abiotic formation of hydrocarbons. In addition to production of methane (CH4aq), we report abiotic generation of ethane (C2H6aq) and propane (C3H8aq) by mineral-catalyzed hydrothermal reactions at 390 degrees C and 400 bars. Results suggest that the chromium component in ultramafic rocks could be an important factor for FTT synthesis during water-rock interaction in mid-ocean ridge hydrothermal systems. This in turn could help to support microbial communities now recognized in the subsurface at deep-sea vents.
长久以来，费托合成一直被认为是热液流体中存在碳氢化合物的原因。我们发现含铁和铬的矿物能催化碳氢化合物的非生物形成。除了生成甲烷（CH4aq），我们还报告了在390摄氏度和400巴的条件下，通过矿物催化的热液反应非生物生成乙烷（C2H6aq）和丙烷（C3H8aq）。结果表明，超镁铁岩中的铬成分可能是中洋脊热液系统水岩相互作用过程中费托合成的一个重要因素。这反过来可能有助于维持目前在深海热液喷口地下已确认的微生物群落。
