BIOLOGICAL SURFACTANT PRODUCTION BY PSEUDOMONAS AERUGINOSA ATCC 9027 AND PROBABLE APPLICATION IN MICROBIAL ENHANCED OIL RECOVERY (MEOR)

Microbial enhanced oil recovery (MEOR) is one of the potential technique which aids in improving oil recovery rate by producing bio-surfactant. Bio-surfactants produced by these microbes plays a critical role in extracting crude oil from the depleted formation soon after primary oil recovery and secondary process had been completed. Current research work mainly focused on the bio-surfactants production using bacteria Pseudomonas aeruginosa (ATCC 9027) at both mesophilic and thermophilic conditions. The growth and bio-surfactant production was investigated by varying temperature as well as pH conditions which typically resembling to petroleum reservoir. Experiment was carried out at laboratory scale and analysis such as physical/biological parameters were studied to determine the optimal conditions for growth and bio-surfactant production. In addition to bio-surfactant production, analysis such as surface activities (surface tension and interfacial tension) have revealed that Pseudomonas aeruginosa (ATCC 9027) has the potential to grow and produce maximum bio-surfactants which in-turn helped in reduction of interfacial tension from 73 mN/m to 33 mN/m at pH 8.0 and 30° C. However at temperature 55° C the strain could not produce bio-surfactant. Also the strain did not show much growth below pH of 5.0 and above pH of 8.0.