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Discerning Chemical Composition and Mutagenic Effects of Soy Biodiesel PM
Citation:
Nash, D., E. Mutlu, W. Preston, M. Hays, S. Warren, C. King, Bill Linak, Ian Gilmour, AND D. DeMarini. Discerning Chemical Composition and Mutagenic Effects of Soy Biodiesel PM. 31st Annual Meeting of the American Association for Aerosol Research, Minneapolis, MN, October 08 - 12, 2012.
Impact/Purpose:
Based on a comparison of the chemical composition and mutagenic effects of 0, 20, 50, and 100% soy biodiesel mixtures (with petroleum diesel), mutagenicity decreases significantly as the proportion of soy biodiesel increases. Ames Assays indicate that mutagenic effects of PM emissions are primarily due to the presence of PAHs. While to a lesser extent, nitro PAHs also show a similar mutagenicity vs. % soy biodiesel trend as PAHs.
Description:
Exhaust particles from the combustion of traditional diesel fuel have been shown to lead to increases in adverse health effects such as impaired lung function, respiratory distress, and cardiovascular disease. This has resulted in an effort to find alternative fuels, such as soy-based biodiesel, that can replace traditional diesel. In the present study, the chemical composition and mutagenic effects of 0, 20, 50 and 100% soy biodiesel (B0, B20, B50, B100) PM emissions from a Yanmar L70 diesel engine and Pramac E3750 generator were examined. As expected, GC/QQQ analysis of the B100 extract shows more than 50% less polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) than are found in B0 and B20 per particle mass. Initial results from mutagenicity testing, a work that is still in progress, suggest that the B100 extract is less mutagenic than B0 and B20 when evaluated using the Salmonella (Ames) assay. This study shows that PAHs are the main mutagenic driver and can be used to predict relative mutagenic potency of various biofuel blends.
