In a bachelor thesis from NTNU, two students have investigated how water affects microbial growth in biodegradable oils (EALs) compared to traditional mineral oils.
Norsk Oljelaboratorium AS (Nolab) commissioned the bachelor thesis where Rune Hatland and Martin Ingebrigtsvold contributed as co-supervisors.
“For us, it is important to help support students and contribute to development. We would like to see more similar projects in the long term, and are available for students who want to use us. We are very pleased with the work Eirik and Anders did in connection with this task,” says Martin.
The study points out that EALs, which are often lifted forward in the green shift, may be more susceptible to degradation when water enters the system.
“We see that bacteria can more easily feed on ester-based EALs than on mineral oils,” says Eirik Risebrobakken and Anders Solbakken, the students behind the paper.
In the experiment, various water sources, including from Brattørkaia and Gåsaparken in Trondheim, were used to study growth of bacteria and fungi in oil samples. A total of 540 samples were analyzed, and in 72 of them microbial growth was detected - the most in the EAL samples.
“This shows that EALs may be more susceptible to biodegradation, and we need to take this into account in future use. The thesis therefore forms a good basis for further research, say the students in their summary.
Read the full paper here: https://ntnuopen.ntnu.no/ntnu-xmlui/handle/11250/3136988