title: Characterization and Application of Biosurfactant Produced by Bacillus licheniformis R2.
abstract: The biosurfactant produced by Bacillus licheniformis R2 was characterized and studied for enhancing the heavy crude oil recovery at 80 °C in coreflood experiments. The strain was found to be nonpathogenic and produced biosurfactant, reducing the surface tension of medium from 70 to 28 mN/m with 1.1 g/l yield. The biosurfactant was quite stable during exposure to elevated temperatures (85 °C for 90 days), high salinity (10 % NaCl), and a wide range of pH (5-12) for 10 days. It was characterized as lipopeptide similar to lichenysin-A, with a critical micelle concentration of about 19.4 mg/l. The efficiency of crude biosurfactant for enhanced oil recovery by core flood studies revealed it to recovering additional 37.1 % oil from Berea sandstone cores at 80 °C. The results are indicative of the potential for the development of lipopeptide biosurfactant-based ex situ microbial enhanced heavy oil recovery from depleting oil fields with extreme temperatures.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology and Biotechnology Centre, The M.S. University of Baroda, Vadodara, 390002, Gujarat, India, sanketjj@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Sanket J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Joshi
authors.forename: S J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Geetha
authors.forename: Anjana J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Desai
mesh_terms: D001407:Bacillus / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000472:pathogenicity; D002855:Chromatography, Thin Layer; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D008823:Micelles; D009821:Oils / Q000302:isolation & purification; D066244:Proton Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy; D019032:Spectrometry, Mass, Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption-Ionization; D017550:Spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared; D013501:Surface-Active Agents / Q000737:chemistry / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000378:metabolism*; D013696:Temperature
chemical_list: D008823:Micelles; D009821:Oils; D013501:Surface-Active Agents