DeMello Jared A, Carmichael Catherine A, Peacock Emily E, Nelson Robert K, Samuel Arey J, Reddy Christopher M
Department of Marine Chemistry and Geochemistry, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, MA 02543, United States.
Mar Pollut Bull. 2007 Jul;54(7):894-904. doi: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2007.02.016. Epub 2007 May 3.
Biodiesel, a mixture of fatty acid methyl esters (FAMEs) derived from animal fats or vegetable oils, is rapidly moving towards the mainstream as an alternative source of energy. However, the behavior of biodiesel, or blends of biodiesel with fossil diesel, in the marine environment have yet to be fully understood. Hence, we performed a series of initial laboratory experiments and simple calculations to evaluate the microbial and environmental fate of FAMEs. Aerobic seawater microcosms spiked with biodiesel or mixtures of biodiesel and fossil diesel revealed that the FAMEs were degraded at roughly the same rate as n-alkanes, and more rapidly than other hydrocarbon components. The residues extracted from these different microcosms became indistinguishable within weeks. Preliminary results from physical-chemical calculations suggest that FAMEs in biodiesel mixtures will not affect the evaporation rates of spilled petroleum hydrocarbons but may stabilize oil droplets in the water column and thereby facilitate transport.
生物柴油是一种由动物脂肪或植物油衍生而来的脂肪酸甲酯（FAMEs）混合物，作为一种替代能源正迅速走向主流。然而，生物柴油或生物柴油与化石柴油的混合物在海洋环境中的行为尚未得到充分了解。因此，我们进行了一系列初步的实验室实验和简单计算，以评估FAMEs的微生物和环境归宿。向有氧海水微观世界中添加生物柴油或生物柴油与化石柴油的混合物后发现，FAMEs的降解速度与正构烷烃大致相同，且比其他烃类成分更快。从这些不同微观世界中提取的残留物在几周内就变得难以区分。物理化学计算的初步结果表明，生物柴油混合物中的FAMEs不会影响泄漏的石油烃的蒸发速率，但可能会稳定水柱中的油滴，从而便于运输。
