Microbial Interactions and Biodegradation in Biodiesel Fuels
Summary
Biodiesel, composed predominantly of fatty acid methyl esters (FAME), offers a renewable alternative to petroleum diesel but is susceptible to microbial colonisation and biochemical transformation. Microorganisms—including bacteria, yeasts and filamentous fungi—adhere to fuel–water interfaces and form biofilms that initiate ester hydrolysis and oxidative breakdown of fuel components. These microbial communities can alter fuel chemistry, increase acidity and water content, and accelerate deposition of sludge and corrosion products in storage and delivery systems. Metabolic pathways under both aerobic and anaerobic conditions drive stepwise degradation of FAME, often at rates exceeding those of conventional diesel. Interactions between bacterial fermenters and fungal degraders create synergistic consortia, with nutrient competition, signalling molecules and extracellular enzymes shaping community structure. Understanding these processes is essential for developing mitigation strategies such as biocide dosing, water separation techniques and storage condition optimisation, all of which are critical to maintain fuel integrity and to prevent infrastructure damage on a global scale.
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Microbial Interactions and Biodegradation in Biodiesel Fuels publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in microbial interactions and biodegradation in biodiesel fuels across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Biodiesel: A renewable diesel substitute composed of fatty acid esters derived from vegetable oils or animal fats.
Biodegradation: The enzymatic breakdown of organic compounds by microorganisms into simpler molecules.
Fatty Acid Methyl Ester (FAME): The principal constituents of biodiesel formed by transesterification of triglycerides with methanol.
Microbiologically Influenced Corrosion (MIC): Metal deterioration accelerated by microbial activity, biofilm formation and metabolic by-products.
Biofilm: A structured microbial community attached to a surface and embedded in a self-produced matrix of extracellular polymeric substances.
References
- In situ Linkage of Fungal and Bacterial Proliferation to Microbiologically Influenced Corrosion in B20 Biodiesel Storage Tanks. Frontiers in Microbiology (2020).
- Microbial contamination of diesel-biodiesel blends in storage tank; an analysis of colony morphology. Heliyon (2022).
- Functional Properties and Microbiological Stability of Fatty Acid Methyl Esters (FAME) under Different Storage Conditions. Energies (2020).
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