Release of sugars and fatty acids from heavy oil biodegradation by common hydrolytic enzymes

Abstract

In response to recent advances in understanding relating to the remarkable persistence of soil organic matter during burial and diagenesis, we examine the extent to which bitumen compositionally reflects the soil organic matter from which it was derived. Through a simple set of experiments, exposure of bitumen to lipase and cellulase, two enzymes effective in the biodegradation of soil organic matter, resulted in the release of glycerin, palmitic and oleic fatty acids from lipase digestion in addition to the release of glucose, alkylphenols and acyclic polyols from fermentation with cellulase, consistent with the products expected these enzymes. These results are significant in that they suggest that heavy oils are more similar to their soil precursor than previously thought, that biodegradation of bitumen can be accelerated using common over the counter enzymes in aerobic conditions and that heavy oils, which are 1000 times more abundant than coal, can release similar biomolecules as those generated in bioreactor culture or biomass harvest, using two of the most abundantly produced enzymes presently available.

Sediment Resuspension and Associated Extracellular Enzyme Activities Measured ex situ: A Mechanism for Benthic-Pelagic Coupling in the Deep Gulf of Mexico

“…We measured potential activities of leucine aminopeptidases, β-glucosidases, and lipases, mediating enzymatic breakdown of peptides, carbohydrates, and lipids, respectively, representing major compound classes within the ocean's organic matter pool. Lipases are also involved in the biodegradation cascade of petroleum hydrocarbons (Margesin et al, 1999;Kamalanathan et al, 2018;Mislan and Gates, 2019), which are an important carbon source for microbial communities in the investigation area (Orcutt et al, 2010;Ziervogel et al, 2014).…”