Energy & Fuels, Vol.27, No.7, 3830-3837, 2013
Chemical Composition and Screening-Level Environmental Contamination Risk of Bioderived Synthetic Paraffinic Kerosene (Bio-SPK) Jet Fuels
Bioderived synthetic paraffinic kerosenes (Bio-SPKs) are a promising new solution for the steadily increasing anthropogenic carbon emissions from the global aviation industry. Compositional analyses were performed on samples of camelina- and jatropha-derived Bio-SPICs as well as conventional Jet A fuel. A screening-level health risk from potential environmental spills of Bio-SPKs was evaluated using an indicator/surrogate approach for hydrocarbon mixtures and compared to the risk posed by Jet A. Compositional analysis of three Bio-SPICs demonstrated a complete absence of benzene, a carcinogenic health risk-driver present at 65 ppm in the Jet A sample. Among the three exposure pathways evaluated, the soil-to-groundwater leaching pathway led to the highest carcinogenic and systemic toxic risk, while the soil pathway (i.e., dermal contact, soil particulate inhalation, and vegetable consumption) led to the least. For systemic toxicity, Jet A posed the highest risk, while the jatropha-based Bio-SPK posed the lowest risk due to its lower mobility. Critical soil protective-concentration-levels (PCLs) were calculated for the 4 fuels and a 50%:50% (v:v) blend of camelina-derived Bio-SPK:Jet A, using reverse modeling for the dominant soil-to-groundwater leaching pathway. Based on the compositional data available for these samples, all Bio-SPKs' whole-fuel critical soil PCLs were 4-12 times greater than the critical soil PCL of Jet A, indicating lower toxicity of Bio-SPKs with respect to Jet A. The critical soil PCL for the blend was inversely related to its Jet A content.