Dissertations and Theses @ UNI
Availability
Open Access Thesis
Keywords
Butyl methyl ether--Biodegradation; Reformulated gasoline--Environmental aspects;
Abstract
The environmental fate and biological effects of the fuel oxygenate methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE) is of concern because, among other factors, it is highly soluble (4.8g/100g H2 0) in water. Therefore, ground and surface water contamination may occur through accidental spills and leaks from underground storage tanks. Little is known about the biodegradability and ecotoxicity of MTBE. Continuous culture technique was used to enrich for MTBE degrading consortium or single species of microorganisms. Radiorespirometry was used to confirm that continuous culture enrichments would metabolize MTBE to carbon dioxide. Radiorespirometry was also used to measure the effects of MTBE on the hexadecane mineralization potential of natural microbial populations. We found that MTBE added to carbon limited microbial consortia increased oxygen consumption but that concentrations approaching 740 mg/1 inhibited the mineralization potential of another fuel constituent (hexadecane) by up to 50%. These results indicate that MTBE can be metabolized in the environment but that toxicity may adversely affect the overall biodegradation of hydrocarbon constituents of liquid fuels.
Year of Submission
1995
Degree Name
Master of Science
Department
Department of Biology
First Advisor
Edward J. Brown
Second Advisor
James Jurgenson
Third Advisor
Kurt Pontasch
Date Original
1995
Object Description
1 PDF file (17 leaves)
Copyright
©1995 Christopher Matthew Horan
Language
en
File Format
application/pdf
Recommended Citation
Horan, Christopher Matthew, "The Effects of Methyl Tertiary Butyl Ether (MTBE) on the Hexadecane Mineralization Potentials of Microbial Consortia" (1995). Dissertations and Theses @ UNI. 2949.
https://scholarworks.uni.edu/etd/2949
Comments
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