Patent ID: 8252594

Claim:
A method for marking a petroleum hydrocarbon, a biodiesel fuel or an ethanol fuel; said method comprising adding to said petroleum hydrocarbon, biodiesel fuel or ethanol fuel at least one organic compound having: (i) an axis of three-fold symmetry; (ii) a nitrogen, oxygen or boron content of at least 3 weight %; and (iii) a molecular weight of at least 240; wherein each said at least one organic compound is present at a level from 0.01 ppm to 50 ppm; and wherein said at least one organic compound has formula X(G) 3 ; wherein X is N, B, Bi, CR, SiR or CCO 2 H; in which R is alkyl, alkoxy, alkenyl, aryl, aralkyl or heterocyclic; and G is an organic substituent having one to twenty-two carbon atoms; and wherein the three G substituents are attached to a single atom.