title: Preliminary ecotoxicity assessment of new generation alternative fuels in seawater.
abstract: The United States Navy (USN) is currently demonstrating the viability of environmentally sustainable alternative fuels to power its fleet comprised of aircraft and ships. As with any fuel used in a maritime setting, there is potential for introduction into the environment through transport, storage, and spills. However, while alternative fuels are often presumed to be eco-friendly relative to conventional petroleum-based fuels, their environmental fate and effects on marine environments are essentially unknown. Here, standard laboratory-based toxicity experiments were conducted for two alternative fuels, jet fuel derived from Camelina sativa (wild flax) seeds (HRJ5) and diesel fuel derived from algae (HRD76), and two conventional counterparts, jet fuel (JP5) and ship diesel (F76). Initial toxicity tests performed on water-accommodated fractions (WAF) from neat fuels partitioned into seawater, using four standard marine species in acute and chronic/sublethal tests, indicate that the alternative fuels are significantly less toxic to marine organisms.
authors: Space and Naval Warfare (SPAWAR) Systems Center Pacific, 53475 Strothe Rd., San Diego, CA 92152, United States. Electronic address: gunther.rosen@navy.mil.
authors: Gunther
authors: G
authors: Rosen
authors: San Diego State University Research Foundation, 5250 Campanile Drive, San Diego, CA 92182, United States.
authors: Renee E
authors: RE
authors: Dolecal
authors: Space and Naval Warfare (SPAWAR) Systems Center Pacific, 53475 Strothe Rd., San Diego, CA 92152, United States.
authors: Marienne A
authors: MA
authors: Colvin
authors: Space and Naval Warfare (SPAWAR) Systems Center Pacific, 53475 Strothe Rd., San Diego, CA 92152, United States.
authors: Robert D
authors: RD
authors: George
mesh_terms: D000401:Aircraft; D000818:Animals; D056804:Biofuels / Q000633:toxicity*; D028244:Camellia / Q000737:chemistry; D003445:Crustacea / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D005399:Fishes / Q000502:physiology; D005742:Gasoline / Q000633:toxicity*; D006838:Hydrocarbons / Q000633:toxicity*; D058086:Microalgae / Q000737:chemistry; D012623:Seawater / Q000032:analysis; D012767:Ships; D014481:United States; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000633:toxicity*
chemical_list: D056804:Biofuels; D005742:Gasoline; D006838:Hydrocarbons; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; C029662:JP5 jet fuel
keywords: Alternative energy; Biofuel; Ecotoxicology; Hydrocarbons; Marine; Petroleum