Tubulation and dispersion of oil by bacterial growth on droplets

Abstract

Bacteria on surfaces exhibit collective behaviors, such as active turbulence and active stresses, which result from their motility, growth, and interactions with their local surroundings. However, interfacial deformations on soft...

The Role of Bacteria in the Formation and Migration of Oil–Particle Aggregates (OPAs) after Marine Oil Spills and the Associated Mechanism

“…After 3 h of mixing, d50 was reduced to 4.4 μm, which was a full 3 times smaller than that of the sterile control group (17 μm). This suggested that the presence of bacteria may promote the dispersion of oil droplets, form droplets with smaller particle sizes, and enhance the interaction between kaolinite and oil droplets . However, after 24 h, the droplet size in the sample started to increase and d50 increased to about 5.5 μm, which was still smaller than d50 at 1 min (12 μm).…”

“…This suggested that the presence of bacteria may promote the dispersion of oil droplets, form droplets with smaller particle sizes, and enhance the interaction between kaolinite and oil droplets. 52 However, after 24 h, the droplet size in the sample started to increase and d50 increased to about 5.5 μm, which was still smaller than d50 at 1 min (12 μm). Similar results were found in other experimental groups.…”

“…Interestingly, to a certain extent, the smaller the DSD, the more favorable it was to stay in the water column, thus reducing the probability of droplets settling to the bottom. 58 In summary, for oil droplets that remained in the water column, bacteria effectively increased the amount of oil that remained in the water column regardless of particle concentration and type, 52 while for oil deposited to the bottom, the concentration of particles seemed to play a greater role. bacterial conditions.…”

Microdomains and stress distributions in bacterial monolayers on curved interfaces

“…After completely covering the available surface area of the oil droplet, the continued growth of cells within the monolayer generates interfacial stresses that lead to the deformation of the oil-water interface. 25,26 To understand how interfacial growth stresses behave in a curved growing monolayer, it is crucial to first understand the alignment behavior of cells within the layer.…”

Alcanivorax borkumensisBiofilms Enhance Oil Degradation By Interfacial Tubulation

“…However, a comprehensive picture of the mechanism of biofilm formation and its coupling to oil degradation remains unclear. To date, few studies have focused on the dynamics of OHCB biofilms formation at the oil-water interface at the micro-drop scale ( 21–23 ). Nonetheless, these studies do not resolve the physical process of biofilm formation and oil degradation at the single-bacterium scale.…”