Analysis of Cold Lake bitumen hydrocarbons by combined GLC-field ionization mass spectrometry and GLC-electron impact mass spectrometry

The thiourea adduct (TUA) and thiourea non-adduct (TUNA) saturated hydrocarbons from the Cold Lake oil-sand bitumen have been analyzed by GLC-electron impact mass spectrometer (EIMS)-computer and GLC-field ionization mass spectrometer (FIMS)-computer systems. FIMS gives information on the molecular weights of individual components within the complex mixture, and augments the fragmentation picture obtained by EIMS. These two methods complement each other and in combination provide a powerful analytical tool for the study of complex mixtures of saturated hydrocarbons. The Cold Lake bitumen is a moderately biodegraded oil, and it is shown that the predominant series of compounds present in the TUA and TUNA fractions are the various homologues of decalin.