The effects of petroleum contamination on the bacterial community of a pristine microbial mat from Salins-de-Giraud (Camargue, France) have been investigated. Mats were maintained as microcosms and contaminated with no. 2 fuel oil from the wreck of the Erika. The evolution of the complex bacterial community was monitored by combining analyses based on 16S rRNA genes and their transcripts. 16S r...

The production of fatty acid methyl esters (FAMEs) from waste activated bleaching earth (ABE) discarded by the crude oil refining industry using lipase from Candida cylindracea was investigated in a 50-L pilot plant. Diesel oil or kerosene was used as an organic solvent for the transesterification of triglycerides embedded in the waste ABE. When 1% (w/w) lipase was added to waste ABE, the FAME ...

Biodiesel, an alternative fuel derived from lipid feedstocks, such as vegetable oil or animal fat, is mainly composed of saturated and unsaturated fatty acid alkyl esters. Fuel suppliers, terminal operators, and users are becoming more concerned with monitoring and maintaining good biodiesel fuel quality with respect to oxidative degradation during storage. The oil stability index (OSI), a para...

On December 12th, 1999, the oil tanker Erika sank off the southern coast of Brittany (France), releasing 20000-30000tons of heavy oil in the open sea. Among the affected coastal habitats were important nurseries for numerous flatfish species and particularly for the common sole, Solea solea. To investigate the potential impact of the spill on this economically significant resource, we employed ...

Studies on the exploration of alternate fuels obtained from renewable sources of energy to supplement conventional fossil fuels are being carried out throughout the world. The edible and non edible oils are being tried to either supplement or to replace diesel as fuel in CI engines. India is the net importer of edible oils and, therefore, emphasis is being laid to explore the possibility of usi...

89 Pacific Economic Bulletin Volume 25 number 3 © 2010 The australian national university The declining or insufficient returns from copra farming have forced Pacific producers to seek alternative sources of income. Burning coconut oil as a fuel is a relatively low-valued end use for the coconut. The labour intensiveness of copra production presents an intractable cost frontier that renders coc...

The synthesis of fuel-range molecules by condensation of biomass-derived furfural and acetone has been studied in a biphasic emulsion system. Nanohybrids composed of basic oxide nanoparticles fused to carbon nanotubes have been used to simultaneously stabilize water/oil emulsions and catalyze the condensation reaction. Under the same conditions, higher conversions and higher fractions of fuel-r...

The emission characteristics of methyl ester of refined rice bran oil – diesel blend mixed in the proportion of 10:90, 20:80, 30:70, 50:50 and 10:0 (v/v) were studied. The emission of carbon monoxide, unburnt hydrocarbons, nitric oxide and nitrogen di oxide by different fuels at various load on 3.73 kW C.I. engine were compared with respect to diesel. The emission of carbon monoxide from the en...

We consider a fuel oil distribution problem where an oil company is responsible for the routing and scheduling of ships between ports such that the demand for various fuel oil products is satisfied during the planning horizon. The production/consumption rates are given and assumed to be constant. We provide two alternative mixed integer formulations: a discrete time model adapted from the case ...

in the present paper, the biodesulfurization of simulated light fuel oil (i.e., dibenzothiophene (dbt) in dodecane) and untreated kerosene with a high total sulfur content has been studied by a native isolated bacterium named bacillus cereus hn. the influences of various parameters such as the reaction temperature (t), biocatalyst cell density, oil phase fraction (ofp), and initial dbt concentr...