Development of microbial fuel cell biosensor for detection of naphthenic acids**

环烷酸（NAs）是炼油废水和油砂工艺影响水（OSPW）的主要急性毒性和内分泌干扰源。NAs渗入周边地表水和地下水，对水生生态系统和环境造成不良影响的问题日益引起人们的关注。因此，对这些废水中的NAs进行常规监测对油砂工业至关重要。现有的分析方法用于分析水样中的NAs，既耗时又昂贵，而且样品需要送到分析实验室。因此，开发一种低成本和快速的NAs监测分析方法将有助于解决这些挑战。阿尔伯塔大学最近与帝国石油资源有限公司合作开展的一项研究表明，基于微生物燃料电池（MFC）的生物传感器可以为监测水样中的NAs提供一种高效且经济的方法。本提案解决了开发该MFC生物传感器用于现场应用所必须克服的挑战。该项目的范围包括了解各种NAs之间的相互作用，各种环境参数的影响，在实际工艺水中检测NAs的长期示范研究，以及微型生物传感器的开发。预计这个为期两年的项目将最终开发出一种强大的MFC生物传感器，可用于油砂行业对NAs的现场量化或现场监测，从而确保油砂开采作业中的可持续环境管理。

Naphthenic acids (NAs) represent the primary source of acute toxicity and endocrine disrupting potential refinery wastewater and oil sands process-affected water (OSPW). There is a growing concern over NAs seepage into surrounding surface and groundwater, and subsequent adverse impact on aquatic ecosystem and environment. Thus, routine monitoring of NAs in these wastewaters are crucial for oil sands industry. Existing analytical methods used for analysis of NAs in water samples are time-consuming and expensive, and samples need to be sent to an analytical laboratory. Hence, development of a low-cost and fast analytical method for monitoring of NAs will help to address these challenges. A recent research program carried out at the University of Alberta in collaboration with Imperial Oil Resources Limited showed that microbial fuel cell (MFC) based biosensor could provide an efficient and cost-effective method for monitoring NAs in water samples. This proposal addresses the challenges that have to be overcome to develop this MFC biosensor for field application. The scope of the project includes understanding interactions among various NAs, the effect of various environmental parameters, long-term demonstration studies for detection of NAs in real process water, and development of a miniaturized biosensor. It is anticipated that this two-year project will culminate in the development of a robust MFC biosensor that can be used for on-site quantification or in-situ monitoring of NAs by oil sands industry, thereby ensuring sustainable environmental management in the oil sands mining operation.