Process Optimization of Palm Oil Mill Effluent-Based Biosurfactant of Halomonas meridiana BK-AB4 Originated from Bledug Kuwu Mud Volcano in Central Java for Microbial Enhanced Oil Recovery

Abstract

Biosurfactants are one of the microbial bioproducts that are in most demand from microbial-enhanced oil recovery (MEOR). The production of biosurfactant is still a relatively high cost. Therefore, this study aims to reduce production costs by utilizing palm oil mill effluent (POME) as the main carbon source. This work examines the optimal conditions of biosurfactant production by Halomonas meridiana BK-AB4 isolated from the Bledug Kuwu mud volcano in Central Java Indonesia and studies it for EOR applications. The biosurfactant production stage was optimized by varying POME concentration, incubation time, NaCl concentration, and pH to obtain the maximum oil displacement area (ODA) values. A response surface methodology (RSM) and a central composite design (CCD) were used to identify the influence of each variable and to trace the relationship between variables. Optimum biosurfactant production was found at a POME concentration (v/v) of 16%, incubation (h) of 112, NaCl concentration (w/v) of 4.7%, pH of 6.5, with an oil displacement area of 3.642 cm. The LC-MS and FTIR analysis revealed the functional groups of carboxylic acid or esters, which indicated that the biosurfactant produced belonged to the fatty acid class. The lowest IFT value was obtained at the second and seventh-day observations at a concentration of 500 mg/L, i.e., 0.03 mN/m and 0.06 mN/m. The critical micelle concentration (CMC) of biosurfactant was about 350 mg/L with a surface tension value of about 54.16 mN/m. The highest emulsification activity (E24 = 76%) in light crude oil (naphthenic–naphthenic) and could reduce the interfacial tension between oil and water up to 0.18 mN/m. The imbibition experiment with biosurfactant results in 23.89% additional oil recovery for 60 h of observation, with the highest increase in oil recovery occurring at the 18th hour, which is 2.72%. Therefore, this bacterium and its biosurfactant show potential, and the bacterium are suitable for use in MEOR applications.

Statistical Optimization of Alkali Pretreatment to Improve Sugars Recovery from Spent Coffee Grounds and Utilization in Lactic Acid Fermentation

“…Figures 1-3 show a three-dimensional response surface plot, made to investigate the effect of the interactions between the experimental factors on each response based on the predicted regression model. The three-dimensional response surface plot was suitable to represent the possible independence of factors in relation to the response [36]. The effect of the factors on the GC is represented in Figure 1.…”

Techno-economics analysis of biosurfactants productions from pseudomonas aeruginosa OPEFB-based with variations in purifications method

“…Biosurfactants work to reduce interfacial tension so that they can be applied to increase the recovery of petroleum. Biosurfactants can be produced from microorganisms, including Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Halomonas merediana [1,2,3,4]. To reduce the cost, waste such as biodiesel can be used as a raw material or substrate [4].…”

“…Biosurfactants can be produced from microorganisms, including Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Halomonas merediana [1,2,3,4]. To reduce the cost, waste such as biodiesel can be used as a raw material or substrate [4]. Palm oil is one of the natural resources in Indonesia, and the industry is the biggest in the world, besides Malaysia and Nigeria.…”