Sharif Digital Repository

Microbial enhanced oil recovery (MEOR) process is divided into two main categories, namely in-situ and ex-situ techniques. It utilizes reservoir microorganisms or specially selected bacteria to use their metabolites for more oil recovery from depleted oil reservoirs. In the present study, the potential of two biosurfactant-producing strains of Enterobacter cloacae and Bacillus stearothermophilus SUCPM#14 were investigated on tertiary oil recovery efficiency in carbonated cores using different designed injection protocols. The required operational time, process cost and proper selection of bacterial formulation during the MEOR process were the main objectives of this study. The results of... 

Microbial Enhanced Oil Recovery (MEOR) as a tertiary process employs microorganisms and their metabolites to reduce the residual oil saturation of the reservoir mainly through interfacial tension (IFT) reduction and wettability alteration. In spite of its great potential and the mentioned advantages, application of MEOR has been limited because of the lack of practical convincing experimental results. In this study, the effects of MEOR process on wettability changes and the reduction of residual oil saturation have been examined by providing microscopic visualization of two phase flow in transparent glass micromodels. Biosurfactant producing bacterial strain (Enterobacter cloacae) was... 

Background: Biodegradation of free cyanide from industrial wastewaters has been proven as a viable and robust method for treatment of wastewaters containing cyanide. Results: Cyanide degrading bacteria were isolated from a wastewater treatment plant for coke-oven-gas condensate by enrichment culture technique. Five strains were able to use cyanide as the sole nitrogen source under alkaline conditions and among them; one strain (C2) was selected for further studies on the basis of the higher efficiency of cyanide degradation. The bacterium was able to tolerate free cyanide at concentrations of up to 500 ppm which makes it a good potentially candidate for the biological treatment of cyanide... 

Optimization based on appropriate parameters can be applied to improve a process. Mazut degradation as a critical issue in environment requires optimization to be efficiently done. To provide biodegradation conditions, experiments were designed on the least interactions among levels of parameters consisting of pH, Tween 80, glucose, phosphorous source, nitrogen source, and time. Kinetic constants and biomass were calculated based on 16 assays, designed using Taguchi method, which constructed various mazut biodegradation conditions. Kinetics of mazut degradation by newly isolated bacteria Enterobacter cloacae closely followed second order kinetic model. Results of the 16 experiments showed... 

Microbial enhanced oil recovery (MEOR) refers to the process of using bacterial activities for more oil recovery from oil reservoirs mainly by interfacial tension reduction and wettability alteration mechanisms. Investigating the impact of these two mechanisms on enhanced oil recovery during MEOR process is the main objective of this work. Different analytical methods such as oil spreading and surface activity measurements were utilized to screen the biosurfactant-producing bacteria isolated from the brine of a specific oil reservoir located in the southwest of Iran. The isolates identified by 16S rDNA and biochemical analysis as Enterobacter cloacae (Persian Type Culture Collection (PTCC)... 

Mazut as a source content of various hydrocarbons is hard to be degraded and its cracking could turn mazut into useful materials. Nevertheless degradation of mazut by routine methods is too expensive but application of indigenous microorganisms as biocatalysts could be effective and important to lower the costs and expand its consumption. Mazut biodegradation can be improved using various strategies; Therefore in this study newly isolated strain Enterobacter cloacae BBRC 10061 was used in a method of gradual addition of mazut into medium and its results were compared with simple addition method. To investigate degradation of mazut by BBRC 10061, influence of increase of mazut concentration... 

In recent years there has been potential increase in the use of alkaline protease as industrial catalysts. Many major industrial and commercial applications, such as food and textile industries, and medical diagnoses, are highly dependent on the protease enzyme. In the cell immobilization technique, the free movement of microorganisms is restricted in the process, and a continuous system of fermentation can be used. In the present work, this technique has been used for alkaline protease production using different carriers, such as chitosan, corn cob and corn tassel. Enzyme activity before immobilization (72 h) was 78.3 U/ml. Corn cob, with 65% immobilization capacity and the highest enzyme... 

Wastewater of purified terephthalic acid (PTA) from a petrochemical plant was examined in a membrane-less single chamber microbial fuel cell for the first time. Time course of voltage during the cell operation cycle had two steady phases, which refers to the fact that metabolism of microorganisms was shifted from highly to less biodegradable carbon sources. The produced power density was 31.8 mW m-2 (normalized per cathode area) and the calculated coulombic efficiency was 2.05 % for a COD removal of 74 % during 21 days. The total removal rate of different pollutants in the PTA wastewater was observed in the following order: (acetic acid) > (benzoic acid) > (phthalic acid) > (terephthalic... 

A bacterial strain, FBHYA2, capable of degrading naphthalene, was isolated from the American Petroleum Institute (API) separator of the Tehran Oil Refinery Complex (TORC). Strain FBHYA2 was identified as Achromobacter sp. based on physiological and biochemical characteristics and also phylogenetic similarity of 16S rRNA gene sequence. The optimal growth conditions for strain FBHYA2 were pH 6.0, 30°C and 1.0% NaCl. Strain FBHYA2 can utilize naphthalene as the sole source of carbon and energy and was able to degrade naphthalene aerobically very fast, 48 h for 96% removal at 500 mg/L concentration. The physiological response of Achromobacter sp., FBHYA2 to several hydrophobic chemicals... 

In the current study, for the first time, photochemical facile green synthesis of salep capped silver nano-wedges was reported via the wet chemical synthesis procedure. Sunlight-UV as an available reducing agent caused mild reduction of silver ions to the silver nano-wedges. Salep as an effective capping/shaping polysaccharide bioresource material was used in the reaction medium and caused creation of flower-like self-assembled structures of the silver nano-wedges. The formation of silver nano-wedges and their flower-like self-assembled structures was confirmed by SEM technique. Further investigations were carried out using UV-vis, FTIR, GPC and XRD data. The prepared silver nano-wedges... 

In the current study, a facile green synthesis of silver-gelatin core-shell nanostructures (spherical, spherical/cubic hybrid, and cubic, DLS diameter: 4.1-6.9 nm) is reported via the wet chemical synthesis procedure. Sunlight-UV as an available reducing agent cause mild reduction of silver ions into the silver nanoparticles (Ag-NPs). Gelatin protein, as an effective capping/shaping agent, was used in the reaction to self-assemble silver nanostructures. The formation of silver nanostructures and their self-assembly pattern was confirmed by SEM, AFM, and TEM techniques. Further investigations were carried out using zeta-potential, UV-Vis, FTIR, GPC, and TGA/DTG/DTA data. The prepared Ag-NPs... 

In this study the ability of Acidithiobacillus ferrooxi-dans, with regard to the biorecovery of heavy metals in shake flask has been investigated. Adaptation experiments with the single metal ions Ni, Co, V, Mo, W and a mixture of the first four metal ions in the medium was developed through serial sub-culturing. Adaptation showed that A. ferrooxidans could tolerate up to 2.3 g/l Ni, 1.4 g/l Co, 1.4 g/l V, 0.045 g/l Mo and 0.005 g/l W, singly. In the presence of multi-metals considering a mixture of Ni-Co-V-Mo, the bacteria was able to tolerate up to 1.5 g/l Ni, 0.8 g/l Co, 0.8 g/l V and 0.05 g/l Mo in steps of 50-100 mg/l for Ni, Co and V, while for Mo and W with increments in concentration... 

The potential of an indigenous bacterial strain isolated from an Iranian oil field for the production of biosurfactant was investigated in this study. After isolation, the bacterium was characterized to be Paenibacillus alvei by biochemical tests and 16S ribotyping. The biosurfactant, which was produced by this bacterium, was able to lower the surface tension of media to 35. mN/m. Accordingly, thin layer chromatography (TLC) and FT-IR has been carried out to determine compositional analysis of the produced biosurfactant. After all the tests related to characterization of the biosurfactant produced by the isolated bacterium, it was characterized as lipopeptide derivative. The combination of... 

We previously reported that MR01, an indigenous strain of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, was able to produce a rhamnolipid-type biosurfactant. Here, we attempted to define the structural properties of this natural product. The analysis of the extracted biosurfactant by thin-layer chromatography (TLC) revealed the presence of two compounds corresponding to those of authentic mono- and di-rhamnolipid. The identity of two structurally distinguished rhamnolipids was confirmed by 1H and 13C nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. Liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (LC/MS) of extracted biosurfactant revealed up to seventeen different rhamnolipid congeners. Further quantification showed... 

Bacterial toxicity of graphene nanosheets in the form of graphene nanowalls deposited on stainless steel substrates was investigated for both Gram-positive and Gram-negative models of bacteria. The graphene oxide nanowalls were obtained by electrophoretic deposition of Mg2+-graphene oxide nanosheets synthesized by a chemical exfoliation method. On the basis of measuring the efflux of cytoplasmic materials of the bacteria, it was found that the cell membrane damage of the bacteria caused by direct contact of the bacteria with the extremely sharp edges of the nanowalls was the effective mechanism in the bacterial inactivation. In this regard, the Gram-negative Escherichia coli bacteria with an... 

In this study, we have investigated the potential of a native bacterial strain isolated from an Iranian oil field for the production of biosurfactant. The bacterium was identified to be Bacillus mycoides by biochemical tests and 16S ribotyping. The biosurfactant, which was produced by this bacterium, was able to reduce the surface tension of media to 34. mN/m. Compositional analysis of the produced biosurfactant has been carried out by thin layer chromatography (TLC) and FT-IR. The biosurfactant produced by the isolate was characterized as lipopeptide derivative. Biosurfactant production was optimized by the combination of central composite design (CCD) and response surface methodology... 

The effect of an efficient biosurfactant produced from Pseudomonas aeroginosa MR01, a bacterial strain isolated from oil excavation areas in southern Iran, on the recovery of residual oil trapped within carbonate rocks, was investigated. In a core holder set-up, bearing a number of limestone-and dolomite-containing core samples, biosurfactant flooding resulted in oil recoveries as large as 20% to 28% Residual Oil (R.O). Biosurfactant injection in less permeable rocks in a range of 0.5 to 32 md was more successful, in terms of oil production. In the case of the least oil recovery via biosurfactant flooding, incubation of the core with a biosurfactant solution at reservoir conditions,... 

In this study a membrane bioreactor (MBR) has been studied experimentally for the treatment of oil field wastewater (produced water). This type of wastewater is characterised with relativity moderate to high amount of salt and oil. The normal bacteria which are growing in conventional activated sludge and MBR cannot withstand at these adverse conditions, therefore it is necessary to be adapted. In this study, different samples from sea sediment in Bushehr (south of Iran) were analysed and different groups of bacteria were isolated and adapted for surveying under high salinity conditions. The performance and efficiency of these bacteria in the degradation of model oil has been studied. The... 

A new dibenzothiophene (DBT) desulfurizing bacterium was isolated from oil-contaminated soils in Iran. HPLC analysis and PCR-based detection of the presence of the DBT desulfurization genes (dszA, dszB and dszC) indicate that this strain converts DBT to 2-hydroxybiphenyl (2-HBP) via the 4S pathway. The strain, identified as Rhodococcus erythropolis SHT87, can utilize DBT, dibenzothiophene sulfone, thiophene, 2-methylthiophene and dimethylsulfoxide as a sole sulfur source for growth at 30 °C. The maximum specific desulfurization activity of strain SHT87 resting cells in aqueous and biphasic organic-aqueous systems at 30 °C was determined to be 0.36 and 0.47 μmol 2-HBP min-1 (g dry cell)-1,... 

In this paper we introduce novel strategy for antibody immobilization using high surface area electrospun nanofibrous membrane based on ethyl-3-(3-dimethylaminopropyl)-carbodiimide/N-hydroxysuccinimide (EDC/NHS) coupling chemistry. To present the high performance of proposed biosensors, anti-staphylococcus enterotoxin B (anti-SEB) was used as a model to demonstrate the utility of our proposed system. Polymer solution of polyethersolfone was used to fabricate fine nanofibrous membrane. Moreover, industrial polyvinylidene fluoride membrane and conventional microtiter plate were also used to compare the efficiency of antibody immobilization. Scanning electron microscopy images were taken to...