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Aerobic Biodegradation Kinetics And Mineralization Of Six Petrodiesel/Soybean-Biodiesel Blends
Citation:
Yassine, M. H., S. Wu, M. T. Suidan, AND A. D. VENOSA. Aerobic Biodegradation Kinetics And Mineralization Of Six Petrodiesel/Soybean-Biodiesel Blends. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY. American Chemical Society, Washington, DC, 47(9):4619-4627, (2013).
Impact/Purpose:
This study was designed to investigate the impact of soybean biodiesel blending level on the aerobic biodegradation kinetics and mineralization of the petrodiesel/biodiesel blends B0, B20, B60, B80, and B100 (where B100 is 100% unblended biodiesel) by acclimated cultures.
Description:
The aerobic biodegradation kinetics and mineralization of six petrodiesel/soybean-biodiesel blends (B0, B20, B40, B60, B80, and B100), where B100 is 100% biodiesel, were investigated by acclimated cultures. The fatty acid methyl esters (FAMEs) of biodiesel were found to undergo rapidly abiotic transformation in all experiments. The C10-C21 n-alkanes of petrodiesel were metabolized at significantly higher microbial utilization rates in the presence of biodiesel. The rates of mineralization of the blends were also enhanced in the presence of biodiesel; yet a similar enhancement in the extent of mineralization was not observed. Abiotic fuel-blends/aqueous-phase equilibration experiments revealed that the FAMEs of biodisel were capabel of cosolubilizing the n-alkanes of petrodiesel, a mechanism that fully explains the faster utilization and mineralization kinetics of petrodiesel in the presence of biodiesel without necessarily enhancing the extent of biomineralization. The biodegradation of six targeted aromatic compounds present in petrodiesel was also influenced by the amount of biodiesel in a blend. While toluene, o-xylene, and tetralin were not degraded in B0 and B20, all the targeted aromatic compounds were degraded to below detection limits in the B40 and B80 treatments. Biomass acclimated to B60, however, was unable to degrade most of the aromatic compounds. These results indicate that the amount of biodiesel in a blend significantly affects the absolute and relative abundance of the dissolved and bioavailable constituents of biodiesel and petrodiesel in a way that can considerably alter the biodegrading capacity of microbial cultures.
