|
Hydrocarbon Conversion Process | |||||||||||
| The microbiological
enzymatic oxidation of a hydrocarbon results in a fatty acid or
carboxylic acid. When microbes biodegrade hydrocarbons, the following
chemical reaction occurs.
decane to decanoic acid
benzene rings to catechol
These fatty or carboxylic acids are then further broken down for energy and carbon by beta oxidation, which removes two carbon atoms at a time as follows. -- oxygen requirement for the first step of bioremediation to a fatty acid is minimal, requiring only 2 or 4 atoms per hydrocarbon molecule. R-C-C-C-COOH The two carbon atoms are accepted in the citric acid cycle that produces energy and carbon for protein. Final end products of hydrocarbon biodegradation are energy, protoplasm, carbon dioxide, and water. |
