The identification of mono-aromatic hydrocarbons from unresolved complex mixtures (UCMs) of biodegraded crude oil isolated using semi-preparative HPLC.

Completed

Fossil Fuels: Oil Gas and Coal(Oil and Gas, Other oil and gas)

Basic and strategic applied research

ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES (Earth Systems and Environmental Sciences)

Not Cross-cutting
Sociological economical and environmental impact of energy (Environmental dimensions)

Dr C Lewis
School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences
University of Plymouth

R&D

NERC

13 March 2003

12 March 2004

12 months

£29,874

Power

South West

Small Grants

Dr C Lewis, School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Plymouth

Dr M Fitzsimons, School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Plymouth

Objectives not supplied

Mono-aromatic hydrocarbons within the unresolved complex mixtures (UCMs) of oils may pose a significant threat to the health of marine organisms when oil is released into the marine environment. UCMs isolated from oils and model analogues have been demonstrated to impair the health of mussels (Mytilus edulis) measured using Scope for Growth assays (Smith et al., 2001; Rowland et al., 2001). The aim of this project is to use semi-preparative high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) to isolate significant amounts of mono-aromatic fractions of the UCM from a biodegraded oil and separate individual components using a novel phase HPLC column before identifying these compounds using GC-MS. The results will lead to the identification of novel hydrocarbons that may have toxicological significance to marine organisms and therefore an impact upon monitoring parameters.

15/09/08