The controls on the composition of biodegraded oils in the deep subsurface – Part 4. Destruction and production of high molecular weight non-hydrocarbon species and destruction of aromatic hydrocarbons during progressive in-reservoir biodegradation

Oldenburg, Thomas B. P.; Jones, Martin; Huang, Haiping; Bennett, Barry; Shafiee, Nor Shahida; Head, Ian M.; Larter, Steve

doi:10.1016/j.orggeochem.2017.09.003

Cited by 53 publications

(21 citation statements)

References 46 publications

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“…The extent to which bitumen and other heavy oils can be biodegraded has been debated for over 50 years and many studies have been performed to test the biodegradative potential of hydrocarbons under various conditions. Slow kinetics and an effective biodegradative molecular size limit of C44 has been observed in anaerobic reservoir conditions containing indigenous microbial communities 13,54,55 which have adapted to nutrient-deprived, growth arrested phenotypes over diagenesis 56 . Studies which have succeeded in biodegrading asphaltenes with microbial cultures have always done so under aerobic conditions 57–59 .…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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

Mislan¹,

Gates²

2019

Sci Rep

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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.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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

Mislan¹,

Gates²

2019

Sci Rep

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“…() for general conditions and Oldenburg et al . () regarding metabolite identification. Briefly, samples were diluted to a final concentration of 0.25 mg/ml, in a toluene‐methanol (1:1 by volume) mixture spiked with 1 ppm reserpine (internal standard).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The temperature program of the GC was 40 C (held for 5 min) to 325 C at 4 C/min and held at 325 C for 15 min. In addition, total organic extracts of the original bitumen and bitumen samples following 3050 days of incubation were investigated for changes in the distribution of polar and non-polar compound classes and specifically for possible metabolites using a Bruker SolariX 12 T, Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometer (12 T FTICR-MS) as described in Oldenburg et al (2014) for general conditions and Oldenburg et al (2017) regarding metabolite identification. Briefly, samples were diluted to a final concentration of 0.25 mg/ml, in a toluene-methanol (1:1 by volume) mixture spiked with 1 ppm reserpine (internal standard).…”

Section: Characterization Of Bitumen Extractsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Anaerobic microbial communities and their potential for bioenergy production in heavily biodegraded petroleum reservoirs

Rezende

Oldenburg

Korin

et al. 2020

Environmental Microbiology

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Most of the oil in low temperature, non-uplifted reservoirs is biodegraded due to millions of years of microbial activity, including via methanogenesis from crude oil. To evaluate stimulating additional methanogenesis in already heavily biodegraded oil reservoirs, oil sands samples were amended with nutrients and electron acceptors, but oil sands bitumen was the only organic substrate. Methane production was monitored for over 3000 days. Methanogenesis was observed in duplicate microcosms that were unamended, amended with sulfate or that were initially oxic, however methanogenesis was not observed in nitrate-amended controls. The highest rate of methane production was 0.15 μmol CH 4 g −1 oil d −1 , orders of magnitude lower than other reports of methanogenesis from lighter crude oils. Methanogenic Archaea and several potential syntrophic bacterial partners were detected following the incubations. GC-MS and FTICR-MS revealed no significant bitumen alteration for any specific compound or compound class, suggesting that the very slow methanogenesis observed was coupled to bitumen biodegradation in an unspecific manner. After 3000 days, methanogenic communities were amended with benzoate resulting in methanogenesis rates that were 110-fold greater. This suggests that oil-to-methane conversion is limited by the recalcitrant nature of oil sands bitumen, not the microbial communities resident in heavy oil reservoirs.

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“…Kohnen et al (1993) The biogeochemistry of Peace River oils has been extensively studied in our group by and Bennett et al (2013). More recently, Oldenburg et al (2017) have shown the effects of different biodegradation levels in the chemical composition distribution in a Peace River area, Bluesky Formation reservoir profile, as measured by FTICR-MS. Overall, molecules with higher DBE and higher sulfur number were found to be more resistant to biodegradation.…”

Section: Thermally Immature Vs Biodegraded Sulfur Rich Oilsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mechanistic insights into sulfur rich oil formation, relevant to geological carbon storage routes. A study using (+) APPI FTICR-MS analysis

Silva¹,

Yim²,

Radović³

et al. 2020

Preprint

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Sulfur incorporation into sedimentary organic matter has a key role in carbon preservation in the geosphere. Such processes can inform strategies for human timescale carbon storage to mitigate climate change impacts and thus more detailed knowledge of sulfur incorporation into biomass species is needed. Until recently, detailed chemical characterization of sulfurized organic matter was only possible by analyzing individual building blocks obtained after desulfurization reactions. In this study, Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (FTICR-MS), with atmospheric pressure photoionization in positive ion mode, (+) APPI, was used to investigate the chemical composition of sulfur rich crude oils and to obtain mechanistic insights into the sulfur incorporation reactions happening during early diagenesis. Contrary to expectations, (+) APPI FTICR-MS data show that sulfurized lipids (with up to 6 sulfur atoms and up to m/z 1100) occur as free molecules in these oils, rather than within a macromolecular network linked by (poly)sulfide bridges. In contrast to the mature Peace River (Canada) oils, the thermally immature Rozel Point (USA) and Jianghan Basin (China) oils show a carbon number preference in sulfurized species resembling biogenic precursor molecules, which highlights the importance of S-bound molecules as geochemical proxies for early diagenetic processes. This study indicates that sulfur incorporation reactions involve the formation of S-cyclic structures in which the double bond equivalent is ≥ the number of S atoms. Collision induced dissociation (CID-) FTICR-MS experiments suggest the occurrence of intermolecular sulfur incorporation reactions, but only as a mechanism that is secondary to intramolecular sulfur addition. The CID-FTICR-MS experiments indicated that steroid sulfurization typically yields S-bearing cyclic structures and that thiol/thioether groups may be present throughout the chemical matrix but only to a minor extent. In addition, CID-FTICR-MS also confirms the occurrence of sulfurized alkenones in low maturity oils. Knowledge of organic sulfur molecule formation informs routes for carbon dioxide removal technologies that could be used to sequester carbon in the geosphere and/or hydrosphere in the form of recalcitrant organic species.

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The controls on the composition of biodegraded oils in the deep subsurface – Part 4. Destruction and production of high molecular weight non-hydrocarbon species and destruction of aromatic hydrocarbons during progressive in-reservoir biodegradation

Cited by 53 publications

References 46 publications

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

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

Anaerobic microbial communities and their potential for bioenergy production in heavily biodegraded petroleum reservoirs

Mechanistic insights into sulfur rich oil formation, relevant to geological carbon storage routes. A study using (+) APPI FTICR-MS analysis

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