Constraints on the quantitative assessment of in-reservoir biodegradation using compound-specific stable carbon isotopes

Wilkes, Heinz; Vieth, Andrea; Elias, Rouven

doi:10.1016/j.orggeochem.2008.02.013

Cited by 18 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…In particular, almost two-thirds of all clones (40 out of 62 clones analyzed) were closely related to the uncultured bacterium RII-AN044 found in anoxic polluted sediments after the Prestige oil spill (Acosta González et al, 2013 ). More than 16% of clones revealed >98% of similarity to the deltaproteobacterium NaphS6, capable of naphthalene and 2-methylnaphthalene degradation (Wilkes et al, 2008 ). Almost 10% of T 90OUT clones were closely related to the n -alkanes- and n -alkenes-degrading strain Desulfatibacillum aliphaticivorans (Cravo-Laureau et al, 2004 ) (Figure 6 ).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effective bioremediation strategy for rapid in situ cleanup of anoxic marine sediments in mesocosm oil spill simulation

et al. 2014

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The purpose of present study was the simulation of an oil spill accompanied by burial of significant amount of petroleum hydrocarbons (PHs) in coastal sediments. Approximately 1000 kg of sediments collected in Messina harbor were spiked with Bunker C furnace fuel oil (6500 ppm). The rapid consumption of oxygen by aerobic heterotrophs created highly reduced conditions in the sediments with subsequent recession of biodegradation rates. As follows, after 3 months of ageing, the anaerobic sediments did not exhibit any significant levels of biodegradation and more than 80% of added Bunker C fuel oil remained buried. Anaerobic microbial community exhibited a strong enrichment in sulfate-reducing PHs-degrading and PHs-associated Deltaproteobacteria. As an effective bioremediation strategy to clean up these contaminated sediments, we applied a Modular Slurry System (MSS) allowing the containment of sediments and their physical–chemical treatment, e.g., aeration. Aeration for 3 months has increased the removal of main PHs contaminants up to 98%. As revealed by CARD-FISH, qPCR, and 16S rRNA gene clone library analyses, addition of Bunker C fuel oil initially affected the activity of autochthonous aerobic obligate marine hydrocarbonoclastic bacteria (OMHCB), and after 1 month more than the third of microbial population was represented by Alcanivorax-, Cycloclasticus-, and Marinobacter-related organisms. In the end of the experiment, the microbial community composition has returned to a status typically observed in pristine marine ecosystems with no detectable OMHCB present. Eco-toxicological bioassay revealed that the toxicity of sediments after treatment was substantially decreased. Thus, our studies demonstrated that petroleum-contaminated anaerobic marine sediments could efficiently be cleaned through an in situ oxygenation which stimulates their self-cleaning potential due to reawakening of allochtonous aerobic OMHCB.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effective bioremediation strategy for rapid in situ cleanup of anoxic marine sediments in mesocosm oil spill simulation

et al. 2014

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“…Therefore, field applications of compound-specific isotope analysis (CSIA) and comparison with literature data from well-known biodegradation cases are currently our most powerful diagnostic tools. Significant outputs of this work would concern petroleum companies not only in the context of bioremediation of deep confined aquifers ( Declercq et al, 2012 ) but also for understanding microbial-induced souring in the oil and gas producing reservoirs ( Sun et al, 2005 ; Wilkes et al, 2008 ; Gieg et al, 2011 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

New Bio-Indicators for Long Term Natural Attenuation of Monoaromatic Compounds in Deep Terrestrial Aquifers

et al. 2016

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Deep subsurface aquifers despite difficult access, represent important water resources and, at the same time, are key locations for subsurface engineering activities for the oil and gas industries, geothermal energy, and CO2 or energy storage. Formation water originating from a 760 m-deep geological gas storage aquifer was sampled and microcosms were set up to test the biodegradation potential of BTEX by indigenous microorganisms. The microbial community diversity was studied using molecular approaches based on 16S rRNA genes. After a long incubation period, with several subcultures, a sulfate-reducing consortium composed of only two Desulfotomaculum populations was observed able to degrade benzene, toluene, and ethylbenzene, extending the number of hydrocarbonoclastic–related species among the Desulfotomaculum genus. Furthermore, we were able to couple specific carbon and hydrogen isotopic fractionation during benzene removal and the results obtained by dual compound specific isotope analysis (𝜀C = -2.4‰ ± 0.3‰; 𝜀H = -57‰ ± 0.98‰; AKIEC: 1.0146 ± 0.0009, and AKIEH: 1.5184 ± 0.0283) were close to those obtained previously in sulfate-reducing conditions: this finding could confirm the existence of a common enzymatic reaction involving sulfate-reducers to activate benzene anaerobically. Although we cannot assign the role of each population of Desulfotomaculum in the mono-aromatic hydrocarbon degradation, this study suggests an important role of the genus Desulfotomaculum as potential biodegrader among indigenous populations in subsurface habitats. This community represents the simplest model of benzene-degrading anaerobes originating from the deepest subterranean settings ever described. As Desulfotomaculum species are often encountered in subsurface environments, this study provides some interesting results for assessing the natural response of these specific hydrologic systems in response to BTEX contamination during remediation projects.

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“…(Surprisingly, toluene was not degraded at all in the Gullfaks oils, which led the authors to suggest that the microbial community in this particular field were not capable of degrading toluene.) The experimentally derived isotopic fractionation factor for n-hexane was used to apply the Rayleigh equation to data from the Gullfaks field to quantify hydrocarbons that had been lost to biodegradation (Vieth & Wilkes 2006;Wilkes et al 2008).…”

Section: Other In-reservoir Processesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Carbon and hydrogen isotopic compositions of n -alkanes as a tool in petroleum exploration

Pedentchouk

Turich

2017

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Compound-specific isotope analysis (CSIA) of individual organic compounds is a powerful but underutilized tool in petroleum exploration. When integrated with other organic geochemical methodologies it can provide evidence of fluid histories including source, maturity, charge history and reservoir processes that can support field development planning and exploration efforts. The purpose of this chapter is to provide a review of the methodologies used for generating carbon and hydrogen isotope data for mid-and high-molecular-weight n-alkanes.We discuss the factors that control stable carbon and hydrogen isotope compositions of n-alkanes and related compounds in sedimentary and petroleum systems and review current and future applications of this methodology for petroleum exploration. We discuss basin-specific case studies that demonstrate the usefulness of CSIA either when addressing particular aspects of petroleum exploration (e.g. charge evaluation, source rock-oil correlation, and investigation of maturity and in-reservoir processes) or when this technique is used to corroborate interpretations from integrated petroleum systems analysis, providing unique insights which may not be revealed when using other methods. CSIA of n-alkanes and related n-alkyl structures can provide independent data to strengthen petroleum systems concepts from generation and expulsion of fluids from source rock, to charge history, connectivity, and in-reservoir processes.Gold Open Access: This article is published under the terms of the CC-BY 3.0 license.Petroleum geoscientists use organic geochemistry as an essential tool in oil and gas exploration and field development planning. Relatively low-cost, high-throughput bulk data are commonly used to screen for source rock quality (e.g. per cent total organic carbon (%TOC), hydrogen and oxygen indices) and thermal maturity (Tmax, vitrinite reflectance equivalent). More in-depth geochemical analytical techniques are used in the context of full fluid and reservoir properties to correlate source rocks and reservoir oils, to determine fluid generation and migration history, including presentday reservoir connectivity, and to understand in-reservoir processes, such as biodegradation of in-reservoir oils. These tools are especially powerful when coupled with other measurements made during the exploration and development process, such as compositional analysis during drilling, downhole fluid analysis and other wireline measurements, and pressure, volume, temperature (PVT) and chemical analyses, integrated in the context of geological static and reservoir dynamic models.Molecular biomarkers have been employed in petroleum exploration for several decades (Peters et al. 2005). The usefulness of bulk stable isotope measurements of gases and oils was well demonstrated in the petroleum industry through the decades of the 1970s and 1980s (Stahl 1977;Schoell 1984;Sofer 1984). However, the use of compound-specific isotopic composition of light hydrocarbons, alkanes and biomarkers is less common....

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Constraints on the quantitative assessment of in-reservoir biodegradation using compound-specific stable carbon isotopes

Cited by 18 publications

References 22 publications

Effective bioremediation strategy for rapid in situ cleanup of anoxic marine sediments in mesocosm oil spill simulation

Effective bioremediation strategy for rapid in situ cleanup of anoxic marine sediments in mesocosm oil spill simulation

New Bio-Indicators for Long Term Natural Attenuation of Monoaromatic Compounds in Deep Terrestrial Aquifers

Carbon and hydrogen isotopic compositions of n -alkanes as a tool in petroleum exploration

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