Control of microbial sulfide production by limiting sulfate dispersal in a water-injected oil field

Shen, Yin; Agrawal, Akhil; Suri, Navreet; An, De-Feng; Voordouw, Johanna K.; Clark, Rhonda; Jack, Thomas R.; Miner, Kirk; Pederzolli, R.; Benko, A.; Voordouw, Gerrit

doi:10.1016/j.jbiotec.2017.11.016

Cited by 10 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 33 publications

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“…Their phenotypic responses vary more with diverse regulatory networks than the genes controlling denitrification outcomes ( Zumft, 1997 ; Van Spanning et al, 2007 ). Under mesophilic conditions, members of the genus Thauera within the Betaproteobacteria have been reported to be dominant in NO 3 – -impacted environments ( Agrawal et al, 2012 ; Shen et al, 2018 ). Some strains of this genus were isolated and characterized for denitrification products and their denitrification regulatory phenotypes (DRPs; Liu et al, 2013 ; Fida et al, 2016 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Denitrification Biokinetics: Towards Optimization for Industrial Applications

et al. 2021

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Denitrification is a microbial process that converts nitrate (NO3–) to N2 and can play an important role in industrial applications such as souring control and microbially enhanced oil recovery (MEOR). The effectiveness of using NO3– in souring control depends on the partial reduction of NO3– to nitrite (NO2–) and/or N2O while in MEOR complete reduction of NO3– to N2 is desired. Thauera has been reported as a dominant taxon in such applications, but the impact of NO3– and NO2– concentrations, and pH on the kinetics of denitrification by this bacterium is not known. With the goal of better understanding the effects of such parameters on applications such as souring and MEOR, three strains of Thauera (K172, NS1 and TK001) were used to study denitrification kinetics when using acetate as an electron donor. At low initial NO3– concentrations (∼1 mmol L–1) and at pH 7.5, complete NO3– reduction by all strains was indicated by non-detectable NO3– concentrations and near-complete recovery (> 97%) of the initial NO3-N as N2 after 14 days of incubation. The relative rate of denitrification by NS1 was low, 0.071 mmol L–1 d–1, compared to that of K172 (0.431 mmol L–1 d–1) and TK001 (0.429 mmol L–1 d–1). Transient accumulation of up to 0.74 mmol L–1 NO2– was observed in cultures of NS1 only. Increased initial NO3– concentrations resulted in the accumulation of elevated concentrations of NO2– and N2O, particularly in incubations with K172 and NS1. Strain TK001 had the most extensive NO3– reduction under high initial NO3– concentrations, but still had only ∼78% of the initial NO3-N recovered as N2 after 90 days of incubation. As denitrification proceeded, increased pH substantially reduced denitrification rates when values exceeded ∼ 9. The rate and extent of NO3– reduction were also affected by NO2– accumulation, particularly in incubations with K172, where up to more than a 2-fold rate decrease was observed. The decrease in rate was associated with decreased transcript abundances of denitrification genes (nirS and nosZ) required to produce enzymes for reduction of NO2– and N2O. Conversely, high pH also contributed to the delayed expression of these gene transcripts rather than their abundances in strains NS1 and TK001. Increased NO2– concentrations, N2O levels and high pH appeared to cause higher stress on NS1 than on K172 and TK001 for N2 production. Collectively, these results indicate that increased pH can alter the kinetics of denitrification by Thauera strains used in this study, suggesting that liming could be a way to achieve partial denitrification to promote NO2– and N2O production (e.g., for souring control) while pH buffering would be desirable for achieving complete denitrification to N2 (e.g., for gas-mediated MEOR).

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Denitrification Biokinetics: Towards Optimization for Industrial Applications

et al. 2021

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“…In addition, nitrate can be used to reduce formation of hydrogen sulfide produced by sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB) based on the competitive inhibition of nitrate-reducing bacteria on SRB (Gieg et al, 2011; Gassara et al, 2015). It is also a feasible way to control microbial sulfide production by limiting sulfate dispersal in oil reservoirs (Shen et al, 2018). A previous study also used anaerobic chemolithotrophic nitrate-dependent Fe(II)-oxidizing microorganisms to modify rock porosity, with subsequent alteration and improvement of floodwater sweep to improve oil recovery (Zhu et al, 2013).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Composition of Bacterial and Archaeal Communities in an Alkali-Surfactant-Polyacrylamide-Flooded Oil Reservoir and the Responses of Microcosms to Nutrients

Gao

Tan

et al. 2019

Front. Microbiol.

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The microbial communities in alkali-surfactant-polyacrylamide-flooded (ASP-flooded) oil reservoirs have rarely been investigated compared to those in water-flooded oil reservoirs. Here, the bacterial and archaeal communities in an ASP-flooded reservoir and the adjacent water-flooded block, and responses of the microbial communities in microcosms to nutrients were investigated by 16S rRNA gene sequencing and cultivation. Compared with the water-flooded block, both the bacterial and archaeal communities inhabiting the ASP-flooded block had lower Sobs indices (91:232 and 34:55, respectively), lower Shannon indices (1.296:2.256 and 0.845:1.627, respectively) and higher Simpson indices (0.391:0.248 and 0.678:0.315, respectively). Halomonas (58.4–82.1%) and Anoxynatronum (14.5–18.2%) predominated in the ASP-flooded production wells, and were less than 0.05% in the bacterial communities of the adjacent water-flooded production wells, which were dominated by Pseudomonas and Thauera. Methanobacterium accounted for 65.0–94.5% of the archaeal communities inhabiting the ASP-flooded production wells, and Methanosaeta (36.7–94.5%) dominated the adjacent water-flooded production wells. After nutrients stimulation, the quantity of cultivable microorganisms increased from 103/mL to 107/mL. Community analysis indicated that the relative abundances of some species that belonged to Halomonas and Pseudomonas obviously increased, yet there were no oil emulsification or dispersion and changes of surface tension of the water-oil mixture. In addition, 6 alkali-tolerating strains showing 98% similarity of 16S rRNA genes with those of Halomonas alkalicola and Halomonas desiderata and 2 strains with 99% similarity with Pseudomonas stutzeri gene were isolated from the nutrients stimulated brines. In summary, this study indicated that Halomonas, Anoxynatronum, and Methanobacterium were dominant populations in the ASP-flooded reservoir, the extreme environment decreased microbial diversity, and restricted microbial growth and metabolisms.

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“…We have successfully enriched and isolated PRB from produced waters of the MHGC field, a shallow, low-temperature heavy oil reservoir, which has been subject to nitrate injection to prevent souring ( Voordouw et al, 2009 ; Agrawal et al, 2012 ; Shen et al, 2018 ). Enrichments with perchlorate and VFA were dominated by Tenericutes , including the genus Acholeplasma ( Supplementary Table S1 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Comparison of Nitrate and Perchlorate in Controlling Sulfidogenesis in Heavy Oil-Containing Bioreactors

Okpala

Voordouw

2018

Front. Microbiol.

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Control of microbial reduction of sulfate to sulfide in oil reservoirs (a process referred to as souring) with nitrate has been researched extensively. Nitrate is reduced to nitrite, which is a strong inhibitor of sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB). Perchlorate has been proposed as an alternative souring control agent. It is reduced to chlorate (ClO3-) and chlorite (ClO2-), which is dismutated to chloride and O2. These can react with sulfide to form sulfur. Chlorite is also highly biocidal. Here we compared the effectiveness of perchlorate and nitrate in inhibiting SRB activity in medium containing heavy oil from the Medicine Hat Glauconitic C (MHGC) field, which has a low reservoir temperature and is injected with nitrate to control souring. Using acetate, propionate and butyrate as electron donors, perchlorate-reducing bacteria (PRB) were obtained in enrichment culture and perchlorate-reducing Magnetospirillum spp. were isolated from MHGC produced waters. In batch experiments with MHGC oil as the electron donor, nitrate was reduced to nitrite and inhibited sulfate reduction. However, perchlorate was not reduced and did not inhibit sulfate reduction in these incubations. Bioreactor experiments were conducted with sand-packed glass columns, containing MHGC oil and inoculated with an oil-grown mesophilic SRB enrichment. Once active souring (reduction of 2 mM sulfate to sulfide) was observed, these were treated with nitrate and/or perchlorate. As in the batch experiments, 4 mM nitrate completely inhibited sulfide production, while partial inhibition occurred with 1 and 2 mM nitrate, but injection of 4 mM perchlorate did not inhibit sulfate reduction and perchlorate was not reduced. The enriched and isolated PRB were unable to use heavy oil components, like alkylbenzenes, which were readily used by nitrate-reducing bacteria. Hence perchlorate, injected into a low temperature heavy oil reservoir like the MHGC, may not be reduced to toxic intermediates making nitrate a preferable souring control agent.

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Control of microbial sulfide production by limiting sulfate dispersal in a water-injected oil field

Cited by 10 publications

References 33 publications

Denitrification Biokinetics: Towards Optimization for Industrial Applications

Denitrification Biokinetics: Towards Optimization for Industrial Applications

Composition of Bacterial and Archaeal Communities in an Alkali-Surfactant-Polyacrylamide-Flooded Oil Reservoir and the Responses of Microcosms to Nutrients

Comparison of Nitrate and Perchlorate in Controlling Sulfidogenesis in Heavy Oil-Containing Bioreactors

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