Gasoline

  Gasoline also called gas or petrol, mixture of volatile, flammable liquid hydrocarbons derived from petroleum and used as fuel for internal-combustion engines. It is also used as a solvent for oils and fats. During the investigation of a suspicious fire, debris is often collected from the scene and analyzed for residues of ignitable liquids (e.g., gasoline). In cases where the debris is contaminated with soil, it is known that heterotrophic soil microorganisms can alter the chemical composition of the ignitable liquid residue over time. The effects of soil type and season upon this phenomenon are not known, however. Hence, soil collected from locations under three different uses (residential, agricultural, brownfield) were spiked with gasoline and microbial degradation was monitored for 30 days. The soils were also chemically and biologically characterized. Gas chromatographic profiles showed that residential soil was most active and brownfield soil least active for the microbial degradation of gasoline.