PASH catalog

Polycyclic Aromatic Sulfur Heterocycles

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Reference Solutions (available here)

The analytical determination of polycyclic aromatic sulfur heterocycles (PASH) has long suffered from the fact that very few reference compounds have been commercially available until now. Nevertheless PASH are of great importance in several fields such as:

geochemistry

analysis of fossil fuels and oils

environmental chemistry

toxicology

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1. Geochemistry

The distribution of monomethyldibenzothiophene isomers in crude oil provides information about the source rock of the oil origin ¹. Additional information about maturity and age of the oil can be obtained by determining the ratio of the thermodynamically more stable 2- and 3-methyldibenzothiophenes to the thermodynamically less stable 1- and 4-methyldibenzothiophenes ².

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2. Fossil Fuels

The desulfurization of fossil fuels is a most important process in industry. However, while aliphatic sulfur compounds can easily be desulfurized aromatic sulfur compounds of the PASH type are quite stable ³.

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3. Environmental Chemistry

PASH are released into the environment by burning organic compounds, oil spills or other industrial activities. They have been determined in several environmental samples and are certified in some standard reference materials:

urban dust ⁴

marine sediments

coal tar ⁵

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4. Toxicology

Like polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) some species of PASH are carcinogenic and/or mutagenic as well. For instance, phenanthro[3,4-b]thiophene was proved to be highly mutagenic ⁶ and benzo[2,3]-phenanthro[4,5-bcd]thiophene was found to be even more mutagenic than benzo[a]pyrene ⁷. However, due to the lack of suitable standard reference materials this field of research is still largely unexplored.

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Example of a Gas Chromatogram

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References

[1] W. B. Hughes, in: "Petroleum Geochemistry and Source Rock Potential of Carbonate Rocks" (J. G. Palaca, Ed., AAPG, Tulsa, 1984), pp. 181-196

[2] L. Schou, M. B. Myhr, Org. Geochem. 13, 61-66 (1988)

[3] A. Attar, F. Dupuis, Adv. Chem. Ser. 192, 239 (1981)

[4] S. A. Wise, B. A. Benner, S. N. Chesler, L. R. Hilpert, C. R. Vogt, W. E. May, Anal. Chem 58, 3067-3077 (1986)

[5] S. A. Wise, B. A. Benner, G. D. Byrd, S. N. Chesler, R. E. Rebbert, M. M. Schantz, Anal. Chem 60, 887-894 (1988)

[6] J. Jacob, Sulfur analogues of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (Thiaarenes), Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1990

[7] Karcher, A. Nelsen, R. Depaus, J. van Eijk, P. Claude, J. Jacob in: "Chemical Analysis and Biological Fate: Polynuclear Aromatic Hydrocarbons", (M. Cooke, A. J. Dennis, Eds., Batelle Press, Columbus, 1981), pp. 317-327

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