Bacterial degradation of crude oil: Comparison of field and experimental data

It has been reported that the composition of crude oils in the subsurface may be altered by bacterial action to the extent that oil correlations (Winters and Williams, 1969) and the value of the crude (Evans et al., 1971) are severely affected. Experimental documentation of these effects is provided by this study.A crude oil was degraded in a 21-day laboratory experiment by a culture of four aerobic bacteria isolated from an oil-contaminated soil. The progress of the experiment was measured by the changes induced in the chemical composition of the oil fraction boiling above 270°C. These changes were similar to the variations in composition found in the MC5 oils of Saskatchewan, Canada.Normal paraffins through to at least nC₃₄ were severely depleted although the attack was temporarily blocked at nC₂₅ (Jobson et al., 1972). The position of this blockage is a function of the isolate employed. The isoprenoids, pristane and phytane, were metabolised after the disappearance of the n-paraffins. Lower-ring naphthenes and aromatics were attacked at the same time as the lighter normal paraffins and before the heavier ones.The more condensed cyclic hydrocarbons were apparently unaffected. Additional non-hydrocarbon NSO, and particularly asphaltene (both defined under section “Methods”), compounds were formed by the metabolism of the hydrocarbons.The residual oil after attack was heavier by approximately 30° API than the initial crude oil.     

Evidence for in situ methanogenic oil degradation in the Dagang oil field

In situ biotransformation of oil to methane was investigated in a reservoir in Dagang, China using chemical fingerprinting, isotopic analyzes and molecular and biological methods. The reservoir is highly methanogenic despite chemical indications of advanced oil degradation, such as depletion of n-alkanes, alkylbenzenes and light polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) fractions or changes in the distribution of several alkylated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. The degree of degradation strongly varied between different parts of the reservoir, ranging from severely degraded to nearly undegraded oil compositions. Geochemical data from oil, water and gas samples taken from the reservoir are consistent with in situ biogenic methane production linked to aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbon degradation. Microcosms were inoculated with production and injection waters in order to characterize these processes in vitro. Subsequent degradation experiments revealed that autochthonous microbiota are capable of producing methane from ¹³C labelled n-hexadecane or 2-methylnaphthalene and suggest that further methanogenesis may occur from the aromatic and polyaromatic fractions of Dagang reservoir fluids. The microbial communities from produced oil–water samples were composed of high numbers of microorganisms (on the order to 10⁷), including methane producing Archaea within the same order of magnitude. In summary, the investigated sections of the Dagang reservoir may have significant potential for testing the viability of in situ conversion of oil to methane as an enhanced recovery method and biodegradation of the aromatic fractions of the oil may be an important methane source.     

Bacterial consortium and axenic cultures isolated from activated sewage sludge for biodegradation of imidazolium-based ionic liquid

Extensive research and increasing number of potential industrial applications made ionic liquids (ILs) important materials in design of new, cleaner technologies. Together with the technological applicability, the environmental fate of these chemicals is considered and significant efforts are being made in designing strategies to mitigate their potential negative impacts. Many ILs are proven to be poorly biodegradable and relatively toxic. Bioaugmentation is known as one of the ways of enhancing the microbial capacity to degrade xenobiotics by addition of specialized strains. The aim of current work was to select microbial species that could be used for bioaugmentation in order to enhance biodegradation of ILs in the environment. We subjected activated sewage sludge to the selective pressure of 1-methyl-3-octylimidazolium chloride ([OMIM][Cl]) and isolated nine strains of bacteria which were able to prevail in these conditions. Subsequently, we utilized axenic cultures (pure cultures) of these bacteria as well as mixed consortium to degrade this IL. In addition, we performed growth inhibition tests and found that bacteria were able to grow in 2 mM, but not in 20 mM solutions of [OMIM][Cl]. The biodegradation conducted by the isolated consortium was higher than conducted by the activated sewage sludge when normalized by the cell density, which indicates that the isolated strains seem specifically suited to degrade the IL.     

Population structures shift during the biodegradation of crude and fuel oil by an indigenous consortium

Petroleum and fuel oil are complex mixtures of recalcitrant hydrocarbons. The biodegradation of these hydrocarbons needs the action of a vast variety of enzymatic capacities. A microbial consortium offers the capability to degrade complex substrates through the assembly of different biochemical reactions, providing a metabolic versatility superior to axenic cultures. In this work, the microbial population dynamics, taxonomy, and the catabolic capacity of a stabilized consortium exposed to fuel and crude oil was analyzed through metagenomics. The stabilized consortium degraded 59% of crude oil components after 8 days, and 34% of fuel oil components after 130 days. Population dynamics analysis indicates that in fuel oil the biodiversity richness was higher; however, denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis similarity dendrogram shows significant changes in the microbial population during crude oil degradation. Taxonomy studies indicate a great genera divergence; only eight microbial genera were common in both samples. In crude oil, the Limnobacter sp. was the most abundant specie (15.6%), while Sphingomonas wittichii (7.9%) and Novosphingobium aromaticivorans (7.6%) were abundant in fuel oil. These microorganisms have been reported to participate in the degradation of aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbons. Functional analysis suggests that fuel and crude oil components changed the interactions between the consortium members affecting the collective metabolic functionality.     

包气带中原油的迁移和降解研究

在石油的开采和集输过程中,常常有大量的原油抛洒和泄漏,这对土壤和植物地造成严重污染,本文通过大量野外和室内的原油渗透试验,含油地层的淋滤试验和石油的生物降解试验,来研究石油污染物在包气带中迁移,转化和降解规律,从而地下水石油污染的潜在性作出科学的评价。     

考虑循环载荷下饱和黏土软化的损伤边界面模型研究

研究表明,循环载荷作用下饱和黏土将发生软化,其机制主要有两个：一是孔压的积累;二是土体原有结构的不断损伤和新结构的不断重塑。针对上述机制,基于广义各向同性硬化准则建立了考虑饱和黏土循环软化的损伤单面模型。该模型在有效应力空间中引入损伤变量,表征土体结构的损伤和重塑程度,在连续的循环加载下,损伤不断累积,边界面则随着损伤的累积不断收缩,以模拟饱和黏土刚度和强度的软化;以应力反向点作为边界面的广义各向同性硬化中心和映射法则的映射中心,灵活地选择塑性模量的插值公式以模拟塑性变形和孔压的累积以及应力-应变的滞回特性。应用该模型对不排水循环三轴试验进行模拟,并且考查了循环周次、循环应力水平和固结历史对饱和黏土循环软化特性的影响,并与相关试验比较,验证了模型的有效性。     

Visualisation of bacterial degradation and mobilisation of oil in a porous medium

 Bacterial interaction with oil and sea water, in a porous medium, was studied using a transparent micro model mounted on a cybernetic-controlled positioning board of an inverted microscope. This was interfaced with computer-operated image analysis and surveillance equipment. Consecutive flooding of the model allowed oil to become trapped by capillary forces. Hydrocarbonoclastic bacteria were inoculated. The interaction of biofilm and oil was monitored during a period of 25 days, while mineral salts were supplied intermittently. A unique feature of biofilm behaviour was discovered. The phenomenon is discussed, and calculations are presented. A possible explanation of the phenomenon appears to be local reductions of the surface tension. The phenomenon helps explain why bacteria are able to mobilise oil trapped by capillary forces without reducing the interfacial tension to a level that leads to an increase in the capillary number sufficient to explain incremental oil recovery. The experimental design is believed to be suitable for studying biofilm behaviour on the pore level. Received: 26 January 1998 · Accepted: 9 July 1998     

塔里木盆地塔北地区中-下奥陶统顶面多期剥蚀过程与油气关系

剥蚀量恢复是古构造演化恢复的基础,对于恢复盆地沉积地层格架,研究盆地隆坳格局迁移、油气分布聚集关系等具有重要意义。我国最大沉积盆地塔里木盆地的塔北地区中-下奥陶统地层油气资源丰富,在经历多次构造运动后,抬升剥蚀严重。本文按照“同层多期”的思想识别了对塔北地区油气勘探举足轻重的中-下奥陶统顶面经历剥蚀的5个主要构造期,采用“地震地层综合法”,在精细地震资料解释的基础上计算了其在5个主要构造期的剥蚀量。通过分析剥蚀过程,认为中-下奥陶统顶面从加里东中期到喜山期剥蚀范围依次减小,剥蚀厚度在加里东中期最大剥蚀可达915 m,位于现在的英买1井附近。海西早期剥蚀最大厚度达892 m,位于现今两北地区北部一带;海西晚期最大剥蚀厚度位于现今的齐古1井附近,剥蚀量可达690 m;印支—燕山期最大剥蚀厚度可达546 m,位于现今阿北1井附近;喜山期对中-下奥陶统顶面的影响已经不如前几期,最大剥蚀厚度仅338 m,位于现今的沙雅6井附近。就5期总剥蚀厚度而言,最大可达936 m,位于顺13井附近。油气运聚的总体趋势是在塔北地区北部不断抬升遭受广泛剥蚀的前提下,油气沿着以中-下奥陶统顶面为核心辐射出的立体复杂疏导体系向高部位的塔北隆起运移成藏。油气有利勘探区应在阿克库勒凸起和“两北”地区的古斜坡位置,正如塔北地区满深1井（沙雅县境内）获得高产油气流的勘探实践所印证。     

塔里木盆地塔北地区中-下奥陶统顶面多期剥蚀过程与油气关系

剥蚀量恢复是古构造演化恢复的基础,对于恢复盆地沉积地层格架,研究盆地隆坳格局迁移、油气分布聚集关系等具有重要意义。我国最大沉积盆地塔里木盆地的塔北地区中-下奥陶统地层油气资源丰富,在经历多次构造运动后,抬升剥蚀严重。本文按照“同层多期”的思想识别了对塔北地区油气勘探举足轻重的中-下奥陶统顶面经历剥蚀的5个主要构造期,采用“地震地层综合法”,在精细地震资料解释的基础上计算了其在5个主要构造期的剥蚀量。通过分析剥蚀过程,认为中-下奥陶统顶面从加里东中期到喜山期剥蚀范围依次减小,剥蚀厚度在加里东中期最大剥蚀可达915 m,位于现在的英买1井附近。海西早期剥蚀最大厚度达892 m,位于现今两北地区北部一带;海西晚期最大剥蚀厚度位于现今的齐古1井附近,剥蚀量可达690 m;印支—燕山期最大剥蚀厚度可达546 m,位于现今阿北1井附近;喜山期对中-下奥陶统顶面的影响已经不如前几期,最大剥蚀厚度仅338 m,位于现今的沙雅6井附近。就5期总剥蚀厚度而言,最大可达936 m,位于顺13井附近。油气运聚的总体趋势是在塔北地区北部不断抬升遭受广泛剥蚀的前提下,油气沿着以中-下奥陶统顶面为核心辐射出的立体复杂疏导体系向高部位的塔北隆起运移成藏。油气有利勘探区应在阿克库勒凸起和“两北”地区的古斜坡位置,正如塔北地区满深1井（沙雅县境内）获得高产油气流的勘探实践所印证。     

Induced degradation of crude oil mediated by microbial augmentation and bulking agents

Different bacterial and fungal strains, isolated from petroleum hydrocarbon-contaminated soil, were tested, in isolation as well as in combination, for their ability to degrade total petroleum hydrocarbon (TPH) in soil samples spiked with crude oil (2, 5 or 10 %, w/w) for 30 days. The selected combination of bacterial and fungal isolates, i.e., Pseudomonas stutzeri BP10 and Aspergillus niger PS9, exhibited the highest efficiency of TPH degradation (46.7 %) in soil spiked with 2 % crude oil under control condition. Further, when this combination was applied under natural condition in soil spiked with 2 % (w/w) crude oil along with inorganic fertilizers (NPK) and different bulking agents such as rice husk, sugarcane, vermicompost or coconut coir, the percent degradation of TPH was found to be maximum (82.3 %) due to the presence of inorganic fertilizers and rice husk as bulking agent. Further, results showed that the presence of NPK and bulking agents induced the activity of degradative enzymes, such as catalase (0.718 m mol H₂O₂ g^?1), laccase (0.77 µmol g^?1), dehydrogenase (37.5 µg g^?1 h^?1), catechol 1, 2 dioxygenase (276.11 µ mol g^?1) and catechol 2, 3 dioxygenase (15.15 µ mol g^?1) as compared to control (without bioaugmentation). It was inferred that the selected combination microbes along with biostimulants could accentuate the crude oil degradation as evident from the biostimulant-induced enhanced activity of degradative enzymes.     

青藏高原土壤中一株低温原油降解菌的分离鉴定及其原油降解特性

从青藏高原班戈桥地区土壤中分离到一株能利用原油为碳源生长的细菌(BGQ-6). 通过16S rRNA基因序列比对及Biolog GEN Ⅲ鉴定板确定该菌株为Rhodococcus qingshengii. 将生长至对数期的菌株接入MM培养基, 10 ℃、150 rpm条件下培养15 d后, 通过GC法检测到该菌对原油的总降解率为74.14%, 且对直链烷烃、支链烷烃、环烷烃和芳香烃等60种烃类有较高的降解率. 通过特异性基因扩增检测到该菌株基因组中具有4个alkB和1个almA两种烷烃羟化酶基因.     

Protection of biodiesel and oil from degradation by natural antioxidants of Egyptian Jatropha

Residue of methanolic extract of Egyptian Jatropha curcas contains bioactive substances such as phenolic compounds, which succeeded to be used as natural antioxidants for the protection of oils and their corresponding biodiesel against oxidative deterioration. In the present work, the residue of Jatropha roots were extracted with methanol and resulting residues, were investigated regarding their content of total phenolic compounds by folin-Cioalteau assay. Further, the antioxidant activities of the extracts were characterized by the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl radical method and proved remarkable results. Oxidation stability of Jatropha oil, used fried oil and olive oil and their corresponding biodiesel obtained by conventional transesterification were tested using thermal oxidation. Natural antioxidants such as (α-trocopherol), synthetic antioxidants as butylated hydroxytoluene and natural Jatropha root extract were used in the present study in comparison to investigate their addition effect on the oxidative stability of oils and their corresponding biodiesel. In the rapied thermal treatment test, results showed that addition of butylated hydroxytoluene 0.25 % was able to stabilize Jatropha oil 6 h, but poorly stabiliz biodiesel. Addition of 0.25 % α-trocopherol to Jatropha oil showed less oxidation stability after 2 h thermal treatment. Crude root extract addition at 0.25% to Jatropha oil showed good stability up to 4 h thermal treatment while addition of root extract at 0.25 % to biodiesel showed better stability up to 6 h thermal treatment. Besides addition of 220 ppm crude root extract to biodiesel was enough sufficient to occure oxidative stabilization. Also Jatropha root residue addition at 400 ppm was effective antioxidant for fresh Jatropha oil.     

BiOBr/铁改性蒙脱石对罗丹明B的光催化降解性能研究

在低温条件下通过铁改性蒙脱石与BiOBr复合成功合成了一种新型的光催化材料,称为BiOBr/Fe-Mt。运用X射线粉末衍射(XRD)、透射电镜(TEM)、傅立叶转换红外光谱(FTIR)、紫外可见漫反射光谱(UV-Vis DRS)对BiOBr/Fe-Mt材料进行表征。同时以λ400 nm的可见光为光源,开展该催化剂对罗丹明B(Rh B)的光催化降解实验以评估其光催化活性。结果表明,支撑材料投加量被固定在2.5 g的条件下,采用铁改性蒙脱石制备的BiOBr/Fe-Mt材料对Rh B的光催化降解活性高于采用钠基蒙脱石制备的BiOBr/Na-Mt。光催化活性的显著提高,主要归因于:1 BiOBr/Fe-Mt的禁带宽度降低至2.46 e V,或可能形成了BiOBr/铁氧化物异质结结构;2 BiOBr/Fe-Mt上仅发生较少的十六烷基三甲基溴化铵有机分子残留。这些结构因素均可以有效促进BiOBr/Fe-Mt上Rh B的光催化降解。     

Boric acid adsorption on humic acids: Ab initio calculation of structures, stabilities, B NMR and B,B isotopic fractionations of surface complexes

Boric acid, B(OH)₃, forms complexes in aqueous solution with a number of bidentate O-containing ligands, HL⁻, where H₂L is C₂O₄H₂ (oxalic acid), C₃O₄H₄ (malonic acid), C₂H₆O₂ (ethylene glycol), C₆H₆O₂ (catechol), C₁₀H₈O₂ (dioxynaphthalene) and C₂O₃H₄ (glycolic acid). McElligott and Byrne [McElligott, S., Byrne, R.H., 1998. Interaction of and in seawater: Formation of . Aquat. Geochem.3, 345-356.] have also found B(OH)₃ to form an aqueous complex with . Recently Lemarchand et al. [Lemarchand, E., Schott, J., Gaillardeet, J., 2005. Boron isotopic fractionation related to boron sorption on humic acid and the structure of surface complexes formed. Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta69, 3519-3533] have studied the formation of surface complexes of B(OH)₃ on humic acid, determining ¹¹B NMR shifts and fitted values of formation constants, and ¹¹B, ¹⁰B isotope fractionations for a number of surface complexation models. Their work helps to clarify both the nature of the interaction of boric acid with the functional groups in humic acid and the nature of some of these coordinating sites on the humic acid. The determination of isotope fractionations may be seen as a form of vibrational spectroscopy, using the fractionating element as a local probe of the vibrational spectrum. We have calculated quantum mechanically the structures, stabilities, vibrational spectra, ¹¹B NMR spectra and ¹¹B,¹⁰B isotope fractionations of a number of complexes B(OH)₂L⁻ formed by reactions of the type:

     

Molecular correlation of free oil,adsorbed oil and inclusion oil of reservoir rocks in the Tazhong Uplift of the Tarim Basin,China

The free, adsorbed and inclusion oils were recovered by sequential extraction from eleven oil and tar containing reservoir rocks in the Tazhong Uplift of Tarim Basin. The results of gas chromatography (GC) and GC–mass spectrometry analyses of these oil components and seven crude oils collected from this region reveal multiple oil charges derived from different source rocks for these oil reservoirs. The initially charged oils show strong predominance of even over odd n-alkanes in the range n-C₁₂ to n-C₂₀ and have ordinary maturities, while the later charged oils do not exhibit any predominance of n-alkanes and have high maturities. The adsorbed and inclusion oils of the reservoir rocks generally have high relative concentrations of gammacerane and C₂₈ steranes, similar to the Cambrian-Lower Ordovician source rocks. In contrast, the free oils of these reservoir rocks generally have low relative concentrations of gammacerane and C₂₈ steranes, similar to the Middle-Upper Ordovician source rocks. There are two interpretations of this result: (1) the initially charged oils are derived from the Cambrian-Lower Ordovician source rocks while the later charged oils are derived from the Middle-Upper Ordovician source rocks; and (2) both the initially and later charged oils are mainly derived from the Cambrian-Lower Ordovician source rocks but the later charged oils are contaminated by the oil components from the Silurian tar sandstones and the Middle-Upper Ordovician source rocks.     

内蒙古查干拜兴晚石炭世埃达克岩的成因及其洋内俯冲作用的约束

由于缺少可靠的埃达克岩石的发现和系统研究,内蒙古索伦地区有无洋内初始弧火成岩组合和洋内俯冲作用尚不清楚,制约了古亚洲洋东段古生代古大洋俯冲消亡过程的进一步认识。本文报道在内蒙古苏尼特右旗蛇绿混杂岩带中新发现的晚石炭世埃达克岩,岩性为英云闪长岩。锆石LA-ICP-MS U-Pb定年显示,查干拜兴埃达克岩的形成时间为322.3±5.2 Ma,时代为晚石炭世。该埃达克岩属于低钾拉斑系列-中钾钙碱性系列岩石,SiO₂含量为65.57%～67.89%,Al₂O₃为15.48%～16.55%,MgO为0.76%～1.63%,Na₂O/K₂O为2.39～18.09,Sr为371×10^-6～486×10^-6,Yb为0.60×10^-6～1.76×10^-6,Y为4.87×10^-6～7.82×10^-6。相对富集大离子亲石元素K、Rb和Sr等,亏损高场强元素Nb、Ta、Z...     

A mathematical model of the global processes of plastic degradation in the World Ocean with account for the surface temperature distribution

The suggested model of plastic garbage degradation allows us to obtain an estimate of the stationary density of their distribution over the surface of the World Ocean with account for the temperature dependence on the degradation rate. The model also allows us to estimate the characteristic time periods of degradation of plastic garbage and the dynamics of the mean density variation as the mean rate of plastic garbage entry into the ocean varies