Comments on 'Organic sulphur compounds produced by flash pyrolysis of Timhadit oil shale' by M. Ishiwatari, H. Sakashita, T. Tatsumi and H-O. Tominaga

Abstract

Since we have analysed three different stratigraphic units of the Timhadit oil shale for sulphur compounds by means of pyrolysis-gas chromatography (Eglinton and Sinninghe DamstC, unpublished results), we believe that the identification by Ishiwatari et al. is not correct. In a recent paper we demonstrated that 90% of the alkylthiophenes produced upon flash pyrolysis of immature kerogens can be explained by thermal degradation of thiophene moieties with linear, isoprenoid, branched alkane and steroidal side-chain carbon skeletons present in the macromolecules.