This fully updated new edition of Hydrocarbons, Oils, and Lipids explores the structural characteristics and properties of major hydrocarbons and lipids. It also provides a comprehensive overview of their analytical characterization in biological and environmental contexts.

Hydrocarbons and lipids comprise extremely diverse organic compounds essential to both the biosphere and geosphere. They serve as key functional components in all living organisms and make up a significant portion of fossil organic matter in sedimentary systems.

Key topics include the occurrence, biosynthesis, and biological functions of these compounds across a wide range of organisms, from bacteria and archaea to algae, higher plants, and arthropods. The book also examines their distribution in the geosphere and the fundamental processes governing the fate of fossil organic matter. Additionally, it covers critical aspects of environmental chemistry and the movement of these compounds between different biosphere and geosphere compartments.

The handbook is structured into four parts:

• Part I : Structures and Properties of Hydrocarbons and Lipids
• Part II : Hydrocarbons and Lipids in the Biosphere
• Part III : Hydrocarbons and Lipids in the Geosphere
• Part IV : Hydrocarbons and Lipids in the Environment
  This is an essential reference for any laboratory engaged in research on hydrocarbons and lipids.

Explores structural diversity and properties of important types of hydrocarbons and lipids Discusses the environmental context from a bioscience and geoscience perspective Examines occurrence, biosynthesis and biological functions of hydrocarbons and lipids

Autorentext

Heinz Wilkes studied chemistry at the University of Hamburg. During his Ph.D., he investigated the bacterial degradation of dibenzo-p-dioxins, dibenzofurans, and other aromatic compounds. He was a Research Scientist in the Institute of Petroleum and Organic Geochemistry at the Research Centre Jülich and in the Organic Geochemistry Section at the German Research Centre for Geosciences in Potsdam. Since 2015, he is a Full Professor of Organic Geochemistry at Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg in the Institute for Chemistry and Biology of the Marine Environment (ICBM) where he is responsible for the B.Sc. program in Environmental Sciences. From 2019 until 2025 he was a member of the board of directors of ICBM, serving as acting director from 2021 until 2023. His research has focused on molecular mechanisms of biogeochemical key reactions and metabolic pathways in microorganisms; the origin, fate, and transformation of hydrocarbons and petroleum in the environment and in the geosphere; and the reconstruction of past environments and climates using organic-geochemical proxy parameters. For many years he has been particularly interested in elucidating degradation pathways of hydrocarbons in anaerobic bacteria. He has published more than 140 articles in peer-reviewed journals and books. From 2015 until 2023, he was a Member of the Board of the European Association of Organic Geochemists, and from 2017 until 2025 he was a Member of the Scientific Advisory Board of the Leibniz Institute for Baltic Sea Research Warnemünde (IOW).

Inhalt

Introduction.- The Origin of Organic Sulphur Compounds and Their Impact on the Paleoenvironmental Record.- Petroleomics.- Stable Isotopes in Understanding Origin and Degradation Processes of Hydrocarbons and Petroleum.- Factors Controlling Carbon and Hydrogen Isotope Fractionation During Biosynthesis of Lipids by Phototrophic Organisms.- Hydrocarbon and Lipid Biogeochemistry of Soils.- Cosmochemistry of Hydrocarbons.- Vitamin Requirements in Biosynthesis and Degradation of Hydrocarbons and Lipids.- Lipid Biomarkers of the Nitrogen Cycle.