Hydrotreated vegetable oil migrates through soil and degrades faster than fossil diesel and hydrotreated vegetable oil-fossil diesel blend

HVO has been noted as a more sustainable fuel, not only leading to lower total CO₂ emissions, but also resulting in lower emissions of toxic substances upon fuel burning. The environmental impact of HVO and HVO diesel blends when accidentally spilled into the soil and ground water has, however, received little attention. While HVO and diesel exhibit nearly identical viscosity and density, their behavior in soils differs due to varying water solubility and fuel additives. In laboratory- and pilot-scale soil columns and lysimeters, we compared the migration and biostimulation-enhanced degradation of HVO, HVO-diesel blend (HVO15), and fossil diesel over 120 days. Additionally, we investigated the impact of fuel additives on migration by comparing HVO without additives to HVO15 and diesel in wet and dry soil columns over 21 days. Notably, HVO migrated through soil more rapidly and in greater quantities than diesel. In wet soil, 69% of added HVO, 8.4% of HVO15, and 21% of diesel leached through as light non-aqueous phase liquid (LNAPL). Dry soil showed smaller differences in fuel migration, but HVO did not mobilize when water was added, unlike HVO15 and diesel. Biostimulation reduced HVO leaching by 15% more than HVO15 and 48% more than diesel. Overall, HVO’s behavior in soil differs significantly from fossil diesel, with factors like lower water solubility, reduced mobilization from dry soil, and higher in situ degradability contributing to its reduced environmental risk compared to fossil fuel alternatives in accident scenarios.