or bitumen family classification as these bound compounds may not represent the original signatures in oil before biodegradation. However, no biodegradation influence has been recognized in high-temperature pyrolysates from 425 °C to 525 °C.

Li, Z., Li, L., McKenna, K.R., Schmidt, M., Pollet, P., Gelbaum, L., Fernández, F.M., Krishnamurthy, R., Liotta, C.L., 2019. The oligomerization of glucose under plausible prebiotic conditions. Origins of Life and Evolution of Biospheres 49, 225-240.

https://doi.org/10.1007/s11084-019-09588-3 The prebiotic origin of polysaccharides, the largest class of biopolymers by mass in extant biology, has seldom been investigated experimentally. Herein, we report on the acid-catalyzed condensation of aqueous solutions of glucose, a model monosaccharide, under plausible prebiotic conditions employing a wet-dry (night-day) protocol with 0.01 MHCl at 50 °C. This protocol leads to the formation of oligosaccharides containing up to eight monomeric units identified by high resolution mass spectrometry. The regio- and stereochemistry of the oligomeric acetal linkages, as well as the quantitative analysis of glucose conversion, are elucidated by combining 1H, 13C and 2D NMR spectroscopy. Ten out of eleven possible acetal linkages, including α - and β - anomers, hav e been identified with the α - and β - 1,6-acetals being the dominant linkages observed. In addition, the acid-catalyzed oligomerization of several glucose disaccharides such as cellobiose, maltose, and gentiobiose are presented along with an accompanying comparison with the corresponding oligomerization of glucose.

Liang, H., Xu, F., Grice, K., Xu, G., Holman, A., Hopper, P., Fu, D., Yu, Q., Liang, J., Wang, D., 2020. Kinetics of oil generation from brackish-lacustrine source rocks in the southern Bohai Sea, East China. Organic Geochemistry 139, 103945.

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0146638019301822 Oil generation (C hydrocarbons) of three Type II kerogen samples isolated from brackish-lacustrine 14+ mudstones from Palaeogene strata (Ed , Es , Es ) in the southern Bohai Sea was simulated by closed-system 3 1 3 gold tube experiments. In addition, a series of complementary analyses (Rock-Eval pyrolysis, total organic carbon, vitrinite reflectance, trace element, X-ray diffraction and flash pyrolysis-gas chromatography - mass spectrometry) were also performed to identify the bulk geochemistry, palaeo-environment and chemical composition of the kerogen. The aim of this study was to achieve a better understanding of the kinetics of oil generation from lacustrine source rocks in the southern Bohai Sea. The results show that the three samples are Type II source rocks deposited in similar palaeo-environments (hot and arid climates, anoxic conditions, and brackish water in shallow to semi-deep lakes) with consequent similarity in the chemical compositions of their kerogens. The organic matter inputs are predominantly composed of lacustrine microalgae, with a relatively small contribution from land plants. The activation energies of oil generation from these samples show a range 14 14 - 1 of 44 -52 kcal/mol, with a frequency factor varying from 1.116 × 10 to 1.274 × 10 s . Due to the similar palaeo-environments and chemical composition, samples in this study exhibit strong consistencies in kinetic parameters. Transformation ratio (TR) evolution curves of oil generation from the three samples, calculated under a linear heating rate (3 K/Ma), exhibit a slight difference, which varies within 4 °C at a given TR. Due to the great similarities of the three kinetic models, an average kinetic model for the Type II brackish-lacustrine source rocks in the southern Bohai Sea was established. This model integrates the characteristics of the three kinetic models and is still dominated by activation energy of 52 kcal/mol. The geological temperature of the oil generation phase for the average model in the southern Bohai Sea is from 92 to 137 °C.

Liang, J., Huang, X., Cai, W., Wang, Y., Chen, L., Zhang, Y., 2019. Source-to-sink system and exploration prospects of the Wilcox Formation in Perdido fold belt,Burgos Basin,Mexico Acta Petrolei Sinica 40, 1439- 1450.

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