The aim of this work was to study the biodegradation of different types of automotive lubricant oils adapted to the aqueous medium using a base inoculum and an aqueous inoculum. Four treatments were carried out in two consecutive and similar experiments: T1 (control); T2 (half-synthetic oil); T3 (mineral oil); T4 (used oil). The results showed the following decreasing order of CO2 production in the Bartha and Pramer respirometers: T4 > T2 > T3 > T1. Thus, the used lubricant oil showed with highest biodegradability, followed by the half-synthetic one and the mineral oil. It was also observed that the mineral lubricant presented a longer period of adaptation compared to the half-synthetic one.
biodegradation; lubricant oil; respirometry; liquid medium
