Evaluation of Slime-Producing Bacteria in Oil Field Core Flood Experiments

Geesey, Gill G.; Mittelman, Marc W.; Lieu, Van T.

doi:10.1128/aem.53.2.278-283.1987

Cited by 35 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 13 publications

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“…The pressure drop for ⌬P 1 /L 1 was greater than ⌬P/L for the full length of the packed bed during the entire period of sucrose injection. This finding indicates that the biomass plug was most dense and the permeability the lowest in the first section of the packed bed throughout the experiment, a result that is consistent with findings of other researchers (Geesey et al, 1987;Vandevivere and Baveye, 1992).…”

Section: Biomass Distribution During Exopolymer-induction Plugging supporting

confidence: 92%

Biomass plug development and propagation in porous media

Stewart

Fogler

2000

Biotechnol. Bioeng.

111

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Exopolymer‐producing bacteria can be used to modify soil profiles for enhanced oil recovery or bioremediation. Understanding the mechanisms associated with biomass plug development and propagation is needed for successful application of this technology. These mechanisms were determined from packed‐bed and micromodel experiments that simulate plugging in porous media. Leuconostoc mesenteroides was used, because production of dextran, a water‐insoluble exopolymer, can be controlled by using different carbon sources. As dextran was produced, the pressure drop across the porous media increased and began to oscillate. Three pressure phases were identified under exopolymer‐producing conditions: the exopolymer‐induction phase, the plugging phase, and the plug‐propagation phase. The exopolymer‐induction phase extended from the time that exopolymer‐producing conditions were induced until there was a measurable increase in pressure drop across the porous media. The plugging phase extended from the first increase in pressure drop until a maximum pressure drop was reached. Changes in pressure drop in these two phases were directly related to biomass distribution. Specifically, flow channels within the porous media filled with biomass creating a plugged region where convective flow occurred only in water channels within the biofilm. These water channels were more restrictive to flow causing the pressure drop to increase. At a maximum pressure drop across the porous media, the biomass yielded much like a Bingham plastic, and a flow channel was formed. This behavior marked the onset of the plug‐propagation phase which was characterized by sequential development and breakthrough of biomass plugs. This development and breakthrough propagated the biomass plug in the direction of nutrient flow. The dominant mechanism associated with all three phases of plugging in porous media was exopolymer production; yield stress is an additional mechanism in the plug‐propagation phase. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Biotechnol Bioeng 72: 353–363, 2001.

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Section: Biomass Distribution During Exopolymer-induction Plugging supporting

confidence: 92%

Biomass plug development and propagation in porous media

Stewart

Fogler

2000

Biotechnol. Bioeng.

111

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“…The cell distribution of vegetative cells in the present study ( Fig. 3) complements the previous findings (10,13). In contrast, cells starved for 2 weeks prior to core injection were observed to be distributed uniformly colonized with either vegetative K. pneumoniae cells (a) or cells that were starved in PBS for 2 weeks (a).…”

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 90%

Plugging of a Model Rock System by Using Starved Bacteria

Macleod

Lappin‐Scott

Costerton

1988

Appl Environ Microbiol

153

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The effects of starvation on bacterial penetration through artificial rock cores were examined. Klebsiella pneumoniae was starved in a simple salts solution for a duration of up to 4 weeks. These cell suspensions were injected into sintered glass bead cores, and the resulting reductions in core permeabilities were recorded. Vegetative cell cultures of K. pneumoniae grown in a sodium citrate medium were injected into other, similar cores, and the reductions in core permeabilities were recorded. The starved cell suspensions did not completely block the core pores, whereas the vegetative cultures reduced core permeability to less than 1%. Scanning electron microscopy of core sections infiltrated with either vegetative or starved cells showed that the former produced shallow “skin” plugs and copious amounts of glycocalyx at the inlet face, whereas the latter produced very little glycocalyx and the cells were distributed evenly throughout the length of the core. The use of a DNA assay to produce a cell distribution profile showed that, compared with the vegetative cells, starved bacteria were able to penetrate deeper into the cores. This was due to the smaller size of the cells and the reduction in biofilm production. This ability of starved bacteria to penetrate further into cores than the normal-size vegetative cells can be usefully applied to selective plugging for enhanced oil recovery. To further test the suitability of starved cells for use in selective plugging, the activities of starved cells present within cores were monitored before and after nutrient stimulation. Our data indicate that with nutrient stimulation, the starved cells lose their metabolic dormancy and produce reductions in core permeability due to cell growth and polymer production.

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“…Note that the above model excludes fructose liberated during glucose production, as given by Eq. (5). The ratio Yidld was estimated as 0.24 insoluble dextran from the polysaccharide production batch experiments.…”

Section: Polysaccharide Production Modelmentioning

confidence: 99%

Leuconostoc mesenteroides growth kinetics with application to bacterial profile modification

Lappan

Fogler

1994

Biotech & Bioengineering

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Bacterial profile modification (BPM) is being developed as an oil recovery technique that uses bacteria to selectively plug oil depleted zones within a reservoir to divert displacing fluids (typically water) into oil-rich zones. Leuconostoc mesenteroides, which produces dextran when supplied with sucrose, is a bacterium that is technically feasible for use in profile modification. However, the technique requires controlled bacterial growth to produce selective plugging.A kinetic model for the production of cells and polysaccharides has been developed for L. mesenteroides bacteria. This model, based on data from batch growth experiments, predicts saccharide utilization, cell generation, and dextran production. The underlying mechanism is the extracellular breakdown of sucrose into glucose and fructose and the subsequent production of polysaccharide (dextran). The monosaccharides are then available for growth. Accompanying sucrose consumption is the utilization of yeast extract. The cell requires a complex media that is provided by yeast extract as a source of vitamins and amino acids. Varying the concentration ratio of yeast extract to sucrose in the growth media provides a means of controlling the amount of polymer produced per cell. Consequently, in situ bacteria growth can be controlled by the manipulation of nutrient media composition, thereby providing the ability to create an overall strategy for the use of L. mesenteroides bacteria for profile modification.

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Evaluation of Slime-Producing Bacteria in Oil Field Core Flood Experiments

Cited by 35 publications

References 13 publications

Biomass plug development and propagation in porous media

Biomass plug development and propagation in porous media

Plugging of a Model Rock System by Using Starved Bacteria

Leuconostoc mesenteroides growth kinetics with application to bacterial profile modification

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