Comparative composition of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the sea water-soluble fractions of different Kuwaiti crude oils

The sea water-soluble fractions (WSFs) of 10 different crude oils, produced from Kuwaiti oil fields, were investigated for the composition of their polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and their methylated homologs. The results indicate that the total PAHs in the WSFs ranged from 171 to 2176 μg/l. The WSFs prepared from the oil from northern oil fields generally contained higher levels of PAHs. Naphthalene and its homologs formed the bulk of the PAHs (ranging from 88.4 to 97.5% of the total PAHs). Significant levels of fluorene, phenanthrene and their homologs were also present in all of the WSFs. PAHs higher than phenanthrene were also detected at very low concentrations. The PAHs in the WSFs of the crude oils were compared with those in Kuwaiti crude oil (export), and the crude export was found to contain relatively lower levels of PAHs.