Emma Mallinson

School of Mechanical, Aerospace and Civil Engineering

Research Assistant

emma.mallinson@sheffield.ac.uk
+44 114 222 5786

Full contact details

Emma Mallinson
School of Mechanical, Aerospace and Civil Engineering
Room D01
Sir Frederick Mappin Building (Broad Lane Building)
Mappin Street
Sheffield
S1 3JD
Research interests

Ethyl tert-butyl ether (ETBE) is a fuel oxygenate used as a gasoline additive to improve combustion efficiency and reduce emissions.

In Europe, use of ETBE has overtaken use of methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE), due to European biofuels legislation. This is because bio-ethanol can be used in the production of ETBE.

However, there is a lack of adequate information in the literature on the fate of ETBE in groundwater, as most research has previously focused on MTBE. More information about ETBE in the environment is required for risk management in the case of release of ETBE to the environment.

Previous research about synthetic chemicals released into the environment (such as halogenated compounds and MTBE) suggest that microorganisms are able to develop metabolic pathways for biodegradation.

If this is the case for ETBE, then natural attenuation could be a suitable remediation strategy for ETBE contaminated groundwater.

This project aims to provide information on the biodegradation potential of ETBE under various environmental conditions (e.g. nutrient status, redox state, co-substrates) in groundwater, and how microorganisms interact in order to transfer the genes responsible for ETBE biodegradation.

This data will allow risk-based decisions to be made about remediation of ETBE contaminated groundwater by natural attenuation.

Publications

Journal articles

Conference proceedings papers

  • Pickup RW, Mallinson HEH, Rhodes G, Alamillo ML, Thornton SF & Lerner DN (2002) A phenol-contaminated groundwater site: A microbiological perspective. IAHS-AISH Publication(275) (pp 251-256) RIS download Bibtex download