Potential use of basidiomycota Trametes hirsuta MT-17.24 in biodegradation of polyanionic cellulose

Abstract

Despite their efficiency, existing methods to dispose of drilling fluids used in the construction of oil and gas wells (chemical treatment of spent solutions, thermal method, thickening) are often expensive and unsustainable. Basidiomycota are natural xylotroph destructors that process lignocellulosic substrate – one of the most stable biopolymers in nature. Prospects for using enzyme preparations based on Basidiomycota as biodestructors of organic substances are evident due to the high efficiency and zero-waste production. The aim was to obtain an enzyme preparation based on the Trametes hirsute MT-17.24 Basidiomycota strain and evaluate its ability to biodegrade polyanionic cellulose, used as a viscosifier for drilling fluids in the construction and repair of oil and gas wells. Screening of cellulase activity of the following strains was carried out: Fomitopsis pinicola MT-5.21, Fomes fomentarius MT-4.05, Lactarius necator, Schizophyllum commune MT-33.01, Trametes versicolor It-1, Trametes hirsute MT-17.24, Trametes hirsuta MT-24.24. To obtain the enzyme preparation, the T. hirsuta MT-17.24 strain was selected, which demonstrated the highest coefficient of cellulase activity (10.9). A medium for solid-phase cultivation of this strain was selected. Enzymatic activity of the enzyme preparation was studied on a model drilling fluid. A 10-hour experiment showed that the use of a 1% enzyme preparation leads to a decrease in the plastic viscosity of the drilling fluid from 16 to 8 mPa·s. The research results demonstrate the efficiency of enzyme preparations based on Basidiomycota in the biodestruction of polyanionic cellulose.