Analyzing crude oils from the Junggar Basin (NW China) using comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography coupled with time-of-flight mass spectrometry (GC×GC-TOFMS)

As a new technology of analyzing crude oils, comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography coupled with time-of-flight mass spectrometry (GC×GC-TOFMS) has received much research attention. Here we present a case study in the Junggar Basin of NW China. Results show that the hydrocarbons, including saturates and aromatics, were all well-separated without large co-elution, which cannot be realized by conventional one-dimensional GC–MS. The GC×GC technique is especially effective for analyzing aromatics and low-to-middle-molecular-weight hydrocarbons, such as diamondoids. The geochemical characteristics of crude oils in the study area were investigated through geochemical parameters extracted by GC×GC-TOFMS, improving upon the understanding obtained by GC–MS. Thus, the work here represents a new successful application of GC×GC-TOFMS, showing its broad usefulness in petroleum geochemistry.