AQUEOUS SOLUBILITY, DISPERSIBILITY AND TOXICITY OF BIODIESELS

ABSTRACT With increasing interest in the use of plant and animal oils as potential petroleum fuel replacements, there is the potential for accidental release of these biodiesels to the environment. While the behaviours and effects of petroleum diesels have been extensively studied, little is known about either the fate of biofuels in water or their potential effects on aquatic ecosystems. The most important mechanism for exposure of aquatic ecosystems to biodiesels and petroleum diesels is the transfer of material from the non-aqueous phase liquid (NAPL) into the aqueous phase, as both soluble and dispersed components. The equilibrium levels of fuel components in the water, the water-accommodated fractions (WAF) have been measured in fresh water for biodiesels from feedstocks of soy oil, canola oil, waste fry tallow and fish wastes. Biodiesel and petroleum diesels blends of 5% (B5) and 20% (B20) are also measured. Aqueous toxicities are also reported for pure biodiesels and petroleum diesel. Acute toxicit...