Docosane in rock extracts: A possible contaminative source

A large predominance of docosane, a wide range of n-alkanes otherwise possessing an odd/even ratio and a complex mixture of branched/cyclic hydrocarbons has been isolated from polythene vial closures. One of two types of polythene feedstock granules of a type used in the manufacture of laboratory plastic ware gave similar results with the exception that the n-alkane homology possessed a slight even/odd predominance; the other type produced a small amount of alkanes in which the normals had a more pronounced even/odd predominance. These findings are noteworthy on two counts. Firstly, docosane has been reported to be a predominant member of the homologous n-alkanes isolated from a series of sediments and indeed its predominance has been suggested as a measure of the maturity of these sediments. Secondly, odd/even alkane homologies are usually regarded, in geochemical analyses, as being biological environmental indicators.