Characterization of biocontaminants in biodiesel fuels and potential roles in the formation of microbially induced corrosion

Abstract

Biological contamination of renewable biodiesel fuels is a recognized problem that requires detailed investigations (Passman, 2001). Increased demand for energy independence and viability as a fossil fuel alternative has rapidly expanded use of biodiesel globally. However, there are several problems associated with biodiesel. One such problem is biological contamination, which reduces fuel stability and induces corrosion. At the start of this project, it was hypothesized that metal corrosion and fuel degradation by microorganisms are cometabolically enhanced by biodiesel in blended fuels. To investigate this hypothesis, experiments were designed to characterize microbial contaminants in biodiesel fuels and study their potential roles in microbial degradation, microbially induced corrosion and cometabolism.