Biotechnology challenges in the petroleum industry

FERRERO, MARCELA

Córdoba-Virtual

Mesa redonda; Congreso Argentino de Microbiologia SAMIGE 2023; 2023

Asociación Argentina de Microbiología

The first biotechnological processes applied in the oil industry were environmental processes, such as wastewater treatment and soil bioremediation. However, there are many others potential uses for biotechnological processes in the oil industry. Many of these processes should be considered either alternative or complementary to conventional oil refining technologies. The introduction of such novel innovative techniques in the petroleum industry may improve its energetic efficiency and reduce its environmental impact. The increasing demand for oil in the world together with very strict environmental laws put economic and technical pressure on the refinery industry to further improve the recovery of crude oil and reduce the concentration of sulfur, metals and nitrogen to low levels of ppm. Biotransformation in the oil industry encompasses processes ranging from oil recovery from reservoirs to downstream biorefining. Some of these processes could involve whole microorganisms as well as their metabolic products (gas, acids, enzymes, polymers, biosurfactants, etc.). Biotechnology has the potential to be applied in the transformation of heavy crudes into light crudes, depolymerization of asphaltenes, hydrocarbon cracking, isomerization polymerization, alkylation, product purification (e.g. removal of sulfur, nitrogen, heavy metals), and liquid and gaseous emission treatment. Given that until now there are very few enzymatic or biochemical processes in the oil industry, the enzymatic transformations of petroleum products and their derivatives constitute a challenge for biotechnology and a field still to be explored in the oil and gas industry