Abstract— One of the processes that can locally be involved in forming the composition of aromatic hydrocarbons in oils is the reaction of electrophilic methylation of aromatic cycles. Up to 40% of the original oil compounds can be transformed into methylation products. Methylation is demonstrated to most likely proceed during catagenesis, after the generation of the fluid that had produced a given oil accumulation. The methylation of aromatic cycles is a definite indicator that the source rocks are either clays or silicites containing relatively much clay material. The methylation reaction is proved not to be widespread even within a given basin, and hence, analysis for the presence of electrophilic methylation products can be efficiently applied in geochemical reconstructions. One of the consequences of methylation may be changes in the concentrations of isomers of aromatic compounds that are used in calculating maturity coefficients, and this may lead to misinterpretations of the results.

中文翻译：

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形成油类成分的新反应：芳香环的甲基化

【摘要】：芳香环的亲电甲基化反应是形成油中芳烃组成的局部过程之一。高达 40% 的原始油化合物可以转化为甲基化产物。甲基化被证明最有可能在后生作用过程中进行，在产生给定石油积累的流体之后。芳香环的甲基化是烃源岩是粘土或含有较多粘土物质的硅质岩的明确指标。即使在给定的盆地内，甲基化反应也被证明并不普遍，因此，亲电甲基化产物的存在分析可以有效地应用于地球化学重建。