Biological sources for phenylalkane hydrocarbons

Linear alkylbenzenes (phenylalkanes) represent an important class of molecular compounds used widely in today`s society as building blocks for detergent manufacture. Evidence is presented to support the proposition in that phenylalkanes in some Australian crude oils and sediments are of geochemical origin rather than resulting from contamination from byproducts of the petrochemical synthesis of surfactants. Evidence presented shows: (1) an unexposed sediment core was found to contain phenylalkanes; (2) the molecular weight range of phenylalkanes in sediments and crude oils is usually wider than that found in surfactants, extending in some cases beyond C{sub 35}; and (3) phenylalkanes were found in the neutral lipid extract of extant {ital Thermoplasma} bacteria. {ital Thermoplasma acidophilum} is an obligate acidiphilic (pH 2) and thermophilic (60{degrees}C), cell wall-less archaeobacterium originally isolated from self-heating coal refuse piles enriched in pyritic materials.