Aerobic biodegradation of butanol and gasoline blends

This work aimed to assess the aerobic biodegradation of butanol/gasoline blends (5; 10; 15 and 20% v/v), being the latter compared to the ethanol/gasoline blend (20% v/v). Two experimental techniques were employed, namely the respirometric method and the redox indicator DCPIP test. In the former, experiments simulating the contamination of natural environments (addition of 50 mL of fuel kg−1 of soil from a non-contaminated site and 20 mL of fuel L−1 of water from a river) were carried out in biometer flasks (250 mL), used to measure the microbial CO2 production. The DCPIP test assessed the capability of four inocula to biodegrade the blends of 20%. The addition of butanol at different concentrations enhanced the biodegradation of gasoline in soil. However, no practical gains were observed for concentrations of butanol above 10%. Ethanol showed to have a much faster biodegradation rate than butanol, particularly in water, and the following order of biodegradability was found: ethanol > butanol > gasoline. The addition of the alcohols to the gasoline resulted in positive synergic effects on the biodegradation of the fuels in soil and water matrices. Furthermore, results suggest that, in soil, butanol better enhanced the biodegradation of gasoline than ethanol.