Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Ayushi Chafale, Atya Kapley
Summary: Fossil fuels, such as petroleum, continue to be an important part of the energy portfolio. Improper disposal of oil sludge from the petroleum industry has led to environmental pollution. Microbial enhanced oil recovery (MEOR) using biosurfactants offers a promising and efficient way to recover oil from both oil reservoirs and waste sludges. MEOR is economically viable compared to other conventional methods and allows for sustainable use of natural resources by reducing and reusing waste sludges.
JOURNAL OF BIOTECHNOLOGY
(2022)
Review
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Bo Wu, Jianlong Xiu, Li Yu, Lixin Huang, Lina Yi, Yuandong Ma
Summary: This paper describes the recent development of MEOR technology and proposes possible methods to reduce its cost. It also suggests combining genetic engineering technology and microbial hybrid culture technology as a future research direction.
Review
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Cong-Yu Ke, Rui Sun, Ming-Xia Wei, Xiu-Ni Yuan, Wu-Juan Sun, Si-Chang Wang, Qun-Zheng Zhang, Xun-Li Zhang
Summary: This review provides an overview of microbial enhanced oil recovery (MEOR) technology, including its principle, characteristics, classification, recent development, and applications. It summarizes the microbial strains, nutrient systems, and actual effects used in MEOR based on numerous field trials conducted worldwide. The article also discusses the challenges and future prospects for industrial application of MEOR, highlighting the need to overcome uncertain factors hindering its industrialization.
CRITICAL REVIEWS IN BIOTECHNOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Junhui Zhang, Wendi Feng, Quanhong Xue
Summary: This study isolated a bacterial strain capable of producing biosurfactant and degrading oil. The strain demonstrated high stability of the biosurfactant under extreme conditions and showed potential for enhancing heavy oil recovery by transforming the composition of the oil.
INTERNATIONAL BIODETERIORATION & BIODEGRADATION
(2022)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Ramla Rehman, Muhammad Ishtiaq Ali, Naeem Ali, Malik Badshah, Mazhar Iqbal, Asif Jamal, Zaixing Huang
Summary: This study investigated the crude oil degrading capabilities of biosurfactant-producing strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Meyerozyma sp. The biosurfactants produced by these strains showed high emulsification activities in crude oil and stability under various conditions. Gravimetric and GC-MS analyses demonstrated efficient petroleum hydrocarbons degradation by both strains, indicating their potential for bioremediation of hydrocarbons-contaminated sites.
JOURNAL OF HAZARDOUS MATERIALS
(2021)
Article
Energy & Fuels
Hamed Aboelkhair, Pedro Diaz, Attia Attia
Summary: This study investigated the production of biosurfactants by indigenous bacteria isolated from Egyptian oil fields, focusing on optimizing surface activity through different nutrient media and examining growth and surface activity under varying conditions. Bacillus spp was selected for its potential in MEOR, showing significant reduction in surface tension and interfacial tension. The study revealed Bacillus spp's ability to produce effective biosurfactants in a new proposed nutrient medium H.
JOURNAL OF PETROLEUM SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING
(2022)
Article
Engineering, Chemical
Xiaosha Lin, Xuecheng Zheng, Rui Liu, Yiping Wen, Mengdie Huang, Rui Gou, Yuru Yan, Yaoming Shi, Jia Tang
Summary: This study identified a strain producing EPS and found that it showed good abilities in mobility control and plugging rate in a core flooding test, indicating its potential for microbial enhanced oil recovery (MEOR) technology.
INDUSTRIAL & ENGINEERING CHEMISTRY RESEARCH
(2021)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Jun Yin, Xiaoxia Wei, Futang Hu, Changkun Cheng, Xuliang Zhuang, Maoyong Song, Guoqiang Zhuang, Feng Wang, Anzhou Ma
Summary: The halotolerant strain Bacillus velezensis BSA1 can produce biosurfactant and modulate the oil microbiome for enhancing oil recovery in low permeability oil reservoirs. Laboratory experiments showed that the oil recovered by B. velezensis BSA1 was 21.6 +/- 1.87 %. Field application also demonstrated successful results with a cumulative oil production of more than 500 m3 within 12 months. Monitoring of the microbial community in the reservoir revealed an increase in surfactant-producing bacteria and hydrocarbon-degrading bacteria, contributing to the enhancement of oil recovery.
CHEMICAL ENGINEERING JOURNAL
(2023)
Article
Energy & Fuels
Chun'An Du, Yongting Song, Zhi Yao, Weili Su, Ge Zhang, Xiaoling Wu
Summary: This paper summarizes the progress of in-situ microbial enhanced oil recovery (MEOR) in the Shengli oilfield. By assessing reservoir characteristics, activators, microbial community structure, and the correlation between microorganisms and oil recovery increment in field trials, the mechanisms of in-situ MEOR are acknowledged. The results show that in-situ MEOR is an effective method for enhanced oil recovery.
ENERGY SOURCES PART A-RECOVERY UTILIZATION AND ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS
(2022)
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Qi Liu, Jianjie Niu, Yang Yu, Chenyi Wang, Shijian Lu, Shengwei Zhang, Jing Lv, Bo Peng
Summary: Microbial enhanced oil recovery (MEOR) is an important method that utilizes microbes and their products to recover crude oil from reservoirs, with biosurfactants playing a crucial role due to their optimal interfacial properties. An optimized biosurfactant produced by Bacillus licheniformis L20 has been characterized as a series of lipopeptides, and has demonstrated promising potential for ex-situ MEOR in harsh reservoir conditions through wettability alteration and core flooding experiments.
JOURNAL OF CLEANER PRODUCTION
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Tekle Tafese Fida, Mohita Sharma, Yin Shen, Gerrit Voordouw
Summary: Bisulfite is used as an oxygen scavenger in waters for oil production to prevent pipeline corrosion. Analysis showed increased concentrations of ammonium, sulfate, and nitrite. Sulfuricurvum bacteria were found to dominate the microbial community and could oxidize bisulfite while reducing nitrate to form sulfate and nitrite. The study suggests an alternative injection procedure using bisulfite and nitrate to maintain the oxygen scavenger function and inhibit sulfide formation.
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Rachel Sonia Lourdes, Sze Yin Cheng, Kit Wayne Chew, Zengling Ma, Pau Loke Show
Summary: The rise in petroleum demand has become a problem, and enhanced oil recovery (EOR) methods can be a solution to this problem and maximize the usage of oil reservoirs. Microbial enhanced oil recovery (MEOR) is a promising technique that is currently not widely discussed. This review paper provides an overview of MEOR technology, including different microbial products, the mechanism of oil recovery, and the contribution of MEOR to the recovery of residual oils.
SUSTAINABLE ENERGY TECHNOLOGIES AND ASSESSMENTS
(2022)
Review
Energy & Fuels
Marzuqa Quraishi, Shashi Kant Bhatia, Soumya Pandit, Piyush Kumar Gupta, Vivek Rangarajan, Dibyajit Lahiri, Sunita Varjani, Sanjeet Mehariya, Yung-Hun Yang
Summary: Crude oil is a major energy source globally, with 70% of traditional oil trapped in marginal reservoirs and only accessible through microbial enhanced oil recovery (MEOR). Despite extensive research, lack of convincing evidence has led to low interest from the petroleum industry in MEOR.
Review
Energy & Fuels
Rituparna Saha, Mainak Mukhopadhyay
Summary: The use of fossil fuels is increasingly associated with detrimental environmental effects, making renewables such as biodiesel highly attractive. Research into oleaginous microorganisms for lipid synthesis has shown promise, but low lipid production has been a limiting factor in industrial biodiesel production. Engineering robust strains of these microbes has increased their lipid production capacity and led to commercialization.
BIOMASS CONVERSION AND BIOREFINERY
(2021)
Article
Agricultural Engineering
Feixiang Zhang, Yong Qin, Changxun Zhao, Weixiang Wu
Summary: Soft magnetic ferrite is a potentially efficient additive for anaerobic digestion that can be recovered together with the microorganisms it carries. This study compared two typical soft magnetic ferrite materials and found that their addition increased methane production by 31% and 68% respectively. Both the ferrite materials and enriched microorganisms were effectively adsorbed post-digestion using a magnet. The study suggests that soft magnetic ferrite addition enhances biomethanization through various mechanisms such as enhanced syntrophic ac-etate oxidation and hydrogenotrophic methanogenesis.
BIORESOURCE TECHNOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Biochemical Research Methods
Haydn F. Thompson, Celine Lesaulnier, Claus Pelikan, Tony Gutierrez
JOURNAL OF MICROBIOLOGICAL METHODS
(2018)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Marta Wozniak-Karczewska, Piotr Lisiecki, Wojciech Bialas, Mikolaj Owsianiak, Agnieszka Piotrowska-Cyplik, Lukasz Wolko, Lukasz Lawniczak, Hermann J. Heipieper, Tony Gutierrez, Lukasz Chrzanowski
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2019)
Article
Microbiology
Laura Duran Suja, Xindi Chen, Stephen Summers, David M. Paterson, Tony Gutierrez
FRONTIERS IN MICROBIOLOGY
(2019)
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Lakshmi Tripathi, Matthew S. Twigg, Aikaterini Zompra, Karina Salek, Victor U. Irorere, Tony Gutierrez, Georgios A. Spyroulias, Roger Marchant, Ibrahim M. Banat
MICROBIAL CELL FACTORIES
(2019)
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Tony Gutierrez, Gordon Morris, Dave Ellis, Barbara Mulloy, Michael D. Aitken
APPLIED MICROBIOLOGY AND BIOTECHNOLOGY
(2020)
Review
Environmental Sciences
Seyedeh Fatemeh Mohsenpour, Sebastian Hennige, Nicholas Willoughby, Adebayo Adeloye, Tony Gutierrez
Summary: This review focuses on the application of mixotrophic microalgae in wastewater treatment, highlighting their mechanisms in reducing nitrogen, phosphorus,and COD, as well as factors influencing their effectiveness and bioreactor design.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2021)
Article
Microbiology
Haydn Frank Thompson, Stephen Summers, Raif Yuecel, Tony Gutierrez
Article
Microbiology
Saskia Rughoeft, Nico Jehmlich, Tony Gutierrez, Sara Kleindienst
Summary: This study used comparative proteomics to investigate the impact of Corexit dispersant on the metabolism, chemotaxis, biofilm formation, and solvent tolerance mechanisms of the marine hydrocarbon-degrading bacterium strain TT1. The results revealed that exposure to Corexit affects various physiological aspects of strain TT1, providing new insights into the impact of dispersants on microbial hydrocarbon degraders for future oil spill response actions.
Article
Engineering, Marine
Saskia Rughoft, Anjela L. Vogel, Samantha B. Joye, Tony Gutierrez, Sara Kleindienst
JOURNAL OF MARINE SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING
(2020)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Georgia-Persephoni Voulgaridou, Theodora Mantso, Ioannis Anestopoulos, Ariel Klavaris, Christina Katzastra, Despoina-Eugenia Kiousi, Marini Mantela, Alex Galanis, Konstantinos Gardikis, Ibrahim M. Banat, Tony Gutierrez, Karina Salek, Stephen Euston, Mihalis I. Panayiotidis, Aglaia Pappa
Summary: SAAs are synthetic chemicals produced from non-renewable sources, with potential toxic impacts on humans and the environment, while natural derived SAAs from the marine environment are seen as promising due to their low toxicity, environmental compatibility, and biodegradability. The Horizon 2020 EU-funded project, MARISURF, aims to identify and characterize SAAs derived from marine bacteria for commercial use, with recent assessments showing lack of cytotoxicity, mutagenicity, and antioxidant capacity, supporting their potential as environmentally friendly biosurfactants.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2021)
Article
Ecology
Christina Nikolova, Umer Zeeshan Ijaz, Tony Gutierrez
Summary: Assembly processes in marine microbial communities amended with crude oil, chemical dispersant, and rhamnolipid are controlled by a combination of deterministic and stochastic factors. Determinism dominates in the early phase, while stochasticity is prevalent in the middle and late stages. Communities amended with dispersant recruit phylogenetically distant species faster compared to oil-only or rhamnolipid-amended communities.
ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2021)
Article
Microbiology
Christina N. Nikolova, Umer Zeeshan Ijaz, Clayton Magill, Sara Kleindienst, Samantha B. Joye, Tony Gutierrez
Summary: The study revealed that the natural marine microbial community in the northeast Atlantic responded differently to crude oil dispersed with either synthetic or biogenic surfactants over time. The synthetic dispersant Finasol had a significant negative impact on community diversity and taxa-functional robustness, while the biogenic surfactant rhamnolipid showed higher performance in aromatic hydrocarbon biodegradation.
Review
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Karen C. L. Fung, Henrique S. Dornelles, Maria B. A. Varesche, Tony Gutierrez
Summary: Synthetic chemical surfactants (SCSs) are widely used in various industrial applications, but their release into the environment has caused significant damage and potential toxic effects. As a result, there is a growing demand for sustainable alternatives, such as biosurfactants, which are biodegradable and non-toxic. However, the low yields and high production costs of microbial biosurfactants pose challenges for their commercialization. This review focuses on discussing the release of SCSs, their impact on marine organisms and humans, and the potential of microbial biosurfactants as replacements.
Article
Microbiology
Mirna Vazquez Rosas Landa, Valerie De Anda, Robin R. Rohwer, Angelina Angelova, Georgia Waldram, Tony Gutierrez, Brett J. Baker
Summary: This study used DNA-SIP and metagenomics to investigate the native alkane-degrading bacteria in the Faroe-Shetland Channel. Two previously overlooked hydrocarbon-degrading bacteria, Lentibacter and Dokdonia, were discovered, with Lentibacter being the dominant genus. Additionally, new metabolic pathways and mechanisms for alkane degradation were identified, enhancing the understanding of the diversity and physiologies of alkane degradation in the North Atlantic.