| dc.description.abstract | Uniroyal PA0-20E, an oligomer of 1-octene, is a dielectric
fluid proposed as a replacement for polychlorinated biphenyls. No
studies on its biodegradation have been reported in the literature
to date.
This thesis contains the results of an investigation of
the biodegradability of this commercial product, particularly by
micro-organisms. Model compounds, such as 7-methylpentadecane and
7-methyl-9-hexylheptadecane, were employed in the study.
A major portion of the study deals with the synthesis of
these model compounds by means of the malonic ester synthesis and
with the characterisation of intermediate and final products.
Incubation experiments have been conducted with Saocharomycopsis
lipolytica using PA0-20E and two synthetic model compounds as
substrates. Gas chromatographic analyses of the extracts of such
cultures did not result in clear evidence of degradation of these
compounds by this organism. | |
