Study of a plugging microbial consortium using crude oil as sole carbon source

Abstract

A microbial consortium named Y4 capable of producing biopolymers was isolated from petroleum-contaminated soil in the Dagang Oilfield, China. It includes four bacterial strains: Y4-1 (Paenibacillus sp.), Y4-2 (Actinomadura sp.), Y4-3 (Uncultured bacterium clone) and Y4-4 (Brevibacillus sp.). The optimal conditions for the growth of the consortium Y4 were as follows: temperature about 46 °C, pH about 7.0 and salinity about 20.0 g/L. The major metabolites were analyzed with gas chromatographymass spectrometry (GC-MS). A comparison was made between individual strains and the microbial consortium for biopolymer production in different treatment processes. The experimental results showed that the microbial consortium Y4 could produce more biopolymers than individual strains, and the reason might be attributed to the synergetic action of strains. The biopolymers were observed with optical and electron microscopes and analyzed by paper chromatography. It was found that the biopolymers produced by the microbial consortium Y4 were insoluble in water and were of reticular structure, and it was concluded that the biopolymers were cellulose. Through a series of simulation experiments with sand cores, it was found that the microbial consortium Y4 could reduce the permeability of reservoir beds, and improve the efficiency of water flooding by growing biomass and producing biopolymers. The oil recovery was enhanced by 3.5% on average. The results indicated that the consortium Y4 could be used in microbial enhanced oil recovery and play an important role in bioremediation of oil polluted environments. © China University of Petroleum (Beijing) and Springer-Verlag GmbH 2008.