Journal of Biotechnology & Biomaterials
Open Access

Abstract

Enhanced recovery processes, such as microbial enhanced oil recovery (MEOR), could be useful for oil extraction. This technology consists of injecting or stimulating microorganisms present in the reservoir that are able to produce gases, acids, solvents and biosurfactants in the oil field, where high temperature, salinity and pressure occur. Therefore, extremophilic microorganisms are suitable for MEOR application. The aim of this study was to evaluate the potential ofthermophilic microorganisms from Mexican reservoirs for MEOR application. Anaerobic, thermophilic, halotolerant and fermentative enrichment cultures were obtained from the oil samples collected from a carbonate oil reservoir in Cordoba Platform Veracruz, Mexico. Enrichment cultures were performed and the temperature and salinity effect on microbial activity was evaluated. Substrate consumption and metabolites production were monitored and growth kinetic parameters were estimated. The mixed culture A7-IMP showed the highest activity among all the mixed cultures screened, growing under 50 to 80°C, 5 to 35 g L -1NaCl and 0.8 to 14.2 MPa pressure. Metabolites production such as CO2, CH4, ethanol, acetone, acetate and biosurfactants were detected. Analysis of the V3 region of the 16S rRNA gene of the A7-IMP culture showed that the predominant taxon was Thermoanaerobacter. The most closely related species were Thermoanaerobacterethanolicus(99.95%), Thermoanaerobacterpseudethanolicus (99.6%), Thermoanaerobacterbrockii (98.9%) and Thermoanaerobacterfinii (98.9%). Nucleotide sequences were deposited in GenBank (NCBI) under accession numbers HQ686054 to HQ686059. The cultures were able to grow in reservoir conditions and produce metabolites useful for enhanced oil recovery.

Biography

Patricia Olguín-Lora completed her PhD at University of Rennes France. She is a researcher at the Mexican Petroleum Institute; she is responsible of project related to recovery and mobilization of oil using microorganisms and their metabolites. She has more than 32 papers in international journals. She has a patent in E. U. about the recovery of hydrocarbons by microbial activity and she had participated in the review papers in journals Water Science and Technology, Waste Management, Environmental Management Journal, Bioresource Biotechnology, Journal Petroleum Science and Engineering, among others.