Spectral libraries for petroleum hydrocarbons (PHC)

We introduce a comprehensive compilation of spectral libraries specifically tailored for petroleum hydrocarbons (PHC), meticulously crafted under controlled laboratory conditions. This compilation includes reference spectral libraries for various PHC forms, including crude oils, mineral substrate-PHC mixtures (comprising crude oils and fuels), oil film on water, and oil-water emulsions. Data collection was conducted within the visible and infrared (IR) wavelength ranges. In the visible, near IR and shortwave IR (VNIR-SWIR – 0.35-2.5 µm) spectra were acquired using the FieldSpec 3 Hi-Res or FieldSpec 4 portable spectroradiometers (Analytical Spectral Devices – ASD). For the thermal IR (TIR – 3-15 µm) range, the Nicolet 6700 (Thermo Fisher), Nicolet Nexus 670 FTIR (Thermo Fisher) and Vertex 70 (Bruker) FTIR spectrometers were employed. The openly accessible spectral libraries presented herein support both the scientific community and industry in the characterization of field samples or spectral data from onshore and offshore sites. Furthermore, these libraries are instrumental in the development and application of classification algorithms designed for processing spectral images captured by cameras coupled to multiple platforms (e.g., tripods, drones, airborne, orbital satellites).