noun
- a saturated hydrocarbon compound found in shark liver oil and some petroleum products
Usage: chemistry; technical
Examples
- Pristane is commonly used as a biological marker in petroleum geochemistry.
- The researcher extracted pristane from shark liver oil for analysis.
- Pristane levels in sediment samples can indicate the source of organic matter.
- The laboratory detected pristane in the crude oil sample.
- Scientists use pristane as a reference compound in chromatography studies.