Method for microbially enhanced oil recovery
AssigneeKing Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals
InventorsMoataz Mohamed Hamed Abdelmoneim Dowaidar, Saravanan Sankaran Sankaran
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A method for the bioremediation of hydrocarbon-contaminated production water through the microbiological process of culturing salt-tolerant bacteria in a high-salt cell culture medium for decontamination. The high-salt cell culture medium contains sodium chloride, sodium sulfate, sodium bicarbonate, calcium chloride, and calcium chloride, along with agar, water, and salt-tolerant bacteria to form broth. Once incubated to form an inoculation mixture, this broth is combined with production water to produce a bacteria-containing liquid mixture, and then treated with production water, bioremediating by propagating the bacteria-containing liquid mixture in the treated production water.
Claims20
A method of microbially enhanced oil recovery, the method comprising culturing a salt-tolerant bacteria using a high-salt cell culture medium comprising sodium chloride present in an amount of 140 to 160 g per liter of high-salt cell culture medium,
- sodium sulfate present in an amount of 0.40 to 0.60 g per liter of high-salt cell culture medium,
- sodium bicarbonate present in an amount of 0.38 to 0.59 g per liter of high-salt cell culture medium,
- calcium chloride present in an amount of 60 to 80 g per liter of high-salt cell culture medium,
- magnesium chloride present in an amount of 10 to 31 g per liter of high-salt cell culture medium,
- agar present in an amount of 10 to 30 g per liter of high-salt cell culture medium,
- glycerol present in an amount of 1 to 5 vol %, and
- water, each based on a total volume of high-salt cell culture medium;
- suspending the salt-tolerant bacteria in a liquid medium comprising
- sodium chloride present in an amount of 140 to 160 g per liter of liquid medium,
- sodium sulfate present in an amount of 0.40 to 0.60 g per liter of liquid medium,
- sodium bicarbonate present in an amount of 0.38 to 0.59 g per liter of liquid medium,
- calcium chloride present in an amount of 60 to 80 g per liter of liquid medium,
- magnesium chloride present in an amount of 10 to 31 g per liter of liquid medium,
- glycerol present in an amount of 1 to 5 vol %, and
- water, each based on a total volume of liquid medium, to form a first broth;
- incubating the first broth to form an inoculation mixture;
- mixing the inoculation mixture with a production water in a volume ratio of 1:1 to form a bacteria-containing liquid mixture;
- propagating the bacteria-containing liquid mixture in a portion of a subterranean geological formation containing an oil deposit;
- and
- recovering oil in the oil deposit.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.