title: Anaerobic biodegradation of soybean biodiesel and diesel blends under sulfate-reducing conditions.
abstract: Biotransformation of soybean biodiesel and its biodiesel/petrodiesel blends were investigated under sulfate-reducing conditions. Three blends of biodiesel, B100, B50, and B0, were treated using microbial cultures pre-acclimated to B100 (biodiesel only) and B80 (80% biodiesel and 20% petrodiesel). Results indicate that the biodiesel could be effectively biodegraded in the presence or absence of petrodiesel, whereas petrodiesel could not be biodegraded at all under sulfate-reducing conditions. The kinetics of biodegradation of individual Fatty Acid Methyl Ester (FAME) compounds and their accompanying sulfate-reduction rates were studied using a serum bottle test. As for the biodegradation of individual FAME compounds, the biodegradation rates for the saturated FAMEs decreased with increasing carbon chain length. For unsaturated FAMEs, biodegradation rates increased with increasing number of double bonds. The presence of petrodiesel had a greater effect on the rate of biodegradation of biodiesel than on the extent of removal.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical, Chemical, and Environmental Engineering, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH 45220, United States.
authors.forename: Shuyun
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: Department of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, College of Arts and Sciences, Gulf University for Science and Technology, Hawally 32093, Kuwait.
authors.forename: Mohamad H
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Yassine
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Engineering and Architecture, American University of Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon. Electronic address: msuidan@aub.edu.lb.
authors.forename: Makram T
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Suidan
authors.affiliation: U.S Environmental Protection Agency (retired), National Risk Management Research Laboratory, 26 W. Martin Luther King Drive, Cincinnati, OH 45268, United States.
authors.forename: Albert D
authors.initials: AD
authors.lastname: Venosa
mesh_terms: D000693:Anaerobiosis; D001673:Biodegradation, Environmental; D056804:Biofuels; D002244:Carbon / Q000737:chemistry; D004952:Esters; D005227:Fatty Acids / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D005742:Gasoline; D007700:Kinetics; D010084:Oxidation-Reduction; D013025:Glycine max; D013431:Sulfates / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D056804:Biofuels; D004952:Esters; D005227:Fatty Acids; D005742:Gasoline; D013431:Sulfates; D002244:Carbon
keywords: Alkane; Anaerobic biodegradation; Biodiesel; FAMEs; Sulfate-reduction