The microelement composition of caustobioliths and oil generation processes – from the D.I. Mendeleev’s hypothesis to the present day

Abstract

The past 2019 is the year of the 150th anniversary of the Periodic Law discovery by D.I. Mendeleev. The international community has recognized it as the International Year of the Periodic Table of Chemical Elements. This initiative was made by the Russian Academy of Sciences, which was supported by UNESCO and the UN General Assembly. The brilliant law of D.I. Mendeleev is an interdisciplinary phenomenon, the universal language of communication between scientists – not only chemists, but also doctors, biologists, physicists, geochemists, geologists, and probably many other specialties. The article presents the features of microelements (ME) distribution in various classes of caustobiolites in connection with the Periodic Table Mendeleev. Their comparative assessment was carried out. MEs were identified that are concentrated in oils and shales in increased ore concentrations. Theories of oil generation developed by D.I. Mendeleev and other scientists, possible sources of ME in oils, features of the correlation dependencies of ME of the composition of oils and the earth’s crust at different levels. The polygenic source of ME in oils is substantiated, which is associated both with sedimentary rocks and organic matter (OM) buried in them, and the occurrence of ME in oils introduced from deep zones of the earth’s crust. A comparative assessment of ME composition of oil and gas basins and the composition of various geological substances indicate that the bulk of MEs are inherited by oils from OM. High enrichment by moving elements is associated with the migration activity during the formation of oil fields, while the correlation of ME oils with the chemical composition of the lower crust indicates the involvement of lower crustal fluids in this process. Scientific heritage of D.I. Mendeleev continues to develop and is currently at a higher level of scientific knowledge.