TI VDROCARBONS FORMED ABIO GEN I C ALL Y 1 29 



and sulphates of manganese and sodium acted for a long time 

 in sealed tubes or stoppered bottles on powdered common 

 giey pig iron containing 3 per cent of carbon. Finally, 

 V. Ipat'ev"^ again repeated the reactions in which hydro- 

 carbons were obtained from iron which contained carbon 

 by the action of dilute hydrochloric acid, salt solutions and 

 plain steam. 



A still greater amount of evidence of like character could 

 be adduced, but the facts which have been set out prove 

 conclusively enough that, under the conditions of chemical 

 experiments, treatment of carbides of iron and other metals 

 with dilute acids, solutions of salts or plain Abater will give 

 rise to the simplest organic substances, hydrocarbons, with- 

 out any connection with, or participation by, organisms. 



Could such phenomena take place under natural condi- 

 tions on the Earth at the present time? Many leading 

 geologists and geophysicists have considered that this is 

 perfectly possible. For example, V. VernadskiP^ in his 

 Outlines of geochemistry wrote: " There are, however, facts 

 which show that metallic carbides, cohenites and perhaps 

 others, may also be thrown up in some volcanic formations 

 under conditions which do not preclude the formation of 

 hydrocarbons on reaction with hot water." Similarly, V. M. 

 Goldschmidt'"- in his recently published paper on the 

 development of organic substances indicated the possibility 

 that hydrocarbons may be formed by inorganic processes such 

 as the hydrolysis of metallic carbides. 



Factual evidence for the possibility that hydrocarbons may 

 be formed abiogenically has been available for a long time 

 in the finding of bitumens in volcanic formations. This is 

 supported by A. Brun's finding of considerable amounts of 

 bitumen in many obsidians and in volcanic pumices and 

 ash. In 1911 D. Edwards drew attention to the fact that 

 the presence of petroleum bitumens in obsidian had been 

 established by C. St. Claire Deville even before Brun. In 

 1930 S. Sacco also found bitumens in obsidians and lavas 

 of Vesuvius and Stromboli."^ 



The abiogenic origin of hydrocarbons is also suggested 

 by a number of gaseous formations which are not directly 

 associated with sedimentary deposits. Such, for example, 



9 



