Compositions comprising and methods of making bio-polymers
AssigneeGeo Fossil Fuels, LLC
InventorsZhaoduo Zhang, William J. Kohr
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A method is provided for the production of an aqueous composition suitable for direct use in a water-flood oil recovery process, which comprises a clarified fermentation fluid containing at least one dissolved polysaccharide, along with the clarified fermentation fluid and aqueous compositions prepared by such method.
Claims21
A method for the production of an aqueous composition suitable for direct use in a water-flood oil recovery process, which comprises a clarified fermentation fluid containing at least one dissolved polysaccharide, comprising the consecutive steps of:
- (a) culturing a polysaccharide-producing microorganism in an aqueous culture medium to produce an aqueous culture containing said dissolved polysaccharide therein;
- and
- (b) clarifying the resultant aqueous culture from step (a), the clarification being effected by an addition of at least one soluble metal ion known to form insoluble precipitates with anions of sulfate, phosphate or carbonate in excess of the amount of said anions in the fermentation broth;
- and
- (c) incubating the metal ions with the fermentation broth to form a precipitate on the cells and cell debris;
- and
- (d) removing the precipitate by gravity settling and/or centrifugation, and recovering said resultant clarified fermentation fluid containing said dissolved polysaccharide,
- wherein said steps (a)-(d) follow each other in this order, without any intervening steps.
A method for the production of an aqueous composition suitable for direct use in a water-flood oil recovery process, which comprises a clarified fermentation fluid containing at least one dissolved polysaccharide, comprising the consecutive steps of:
- (a) culturing a polysaccharide-producing fungal microorganism selected from the group consisting of the Sclerotium genus and the Schizophyllium genus, in an aqueous culture medium to produce an aqueous culture containing said dissolved polysaccharide therein;
- and
- (b) clarifying the resultant aqueous culture from step (a), the clarification being effected by an addition of at least one soluble metal ion known to form insoluble precipitates with anions of sulfate, phosphate or carbonate in excess of the amount of said anions in the fermentation broth;
- and
- (c) incubating the metal ions with the fermentation broth to form a precipitate on the cells and cell debris;
- and
- (d) removing the precipitate by gravity settling and/or centrifugation, and recovering said resultant clarified fermentation fluid containing said dissolved polysaccharide,
- wherein said steps (a)-(d) follow each other in this order, without any intervening steps.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.