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Recent developments in microbial enhanced oil recovery

Author

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  • Patel, Jay
  • Borgohain, Subrata
  • Kumar, Mayank
  • Rangarajan, Vivek
  • Somasundaran, Ponisseril
  • Sen, Ramkrishna

Abstract

The world continues to rely heavily on petroleum as a primary energy source. However, a great fraction of the oil-in-place remains inaccessible to traditional recovery means. This review presents an update on the use of biotechnology to improve residual crude oil production from oil wells as a tertiary oil recovery method known as “microbial enhanced oil recovery” (MEOR). Our focus has been to critically discuss and analyze the recent research trends in this field, with special attention devoted to separately assessing both laboratory and field cases to better demonstrate the progress being made across different MEOR techniques. MEOR strategies reviewed here include the uses of selective plugging, biopolymers, wettability alterations, bioacids, biosolvents, and biosurfactants. Additionally, the emerging contributions of genetically-engineered microorganisms for MEOR purposes (GEMEOR) and enzyme-enhanced oil recovery (EEOR) are also analyzed. While further research must still be done to optimize MEOR methods for the oil industry, biotechnology-based methods hold much promise for oil recovery operations as well as for oil spill remediation.

Suggested Citation

  • Patel, Jay & Borgohain, Subrata & Kumar, Mayank & Rangarajan, Vivek & Somasundaran, Ponisseril & Sen, Ramkrishna, 2015. "Recent developments in microbial enhanced oil recovery," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 1539-1558.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:rensus:v:52:y:2015:i:c:p:1539-1558
    DOI: 10.1016/j.rser.2015.07.135
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Moon Sik Jeong & Young Woo Lee & Hye Seung Lee & Kun Sang Lee, 2021. "Simulation-Based Optimization of Microbial Enhanced Oil Recovery with a Model Integrating Temperature, Pressure, and Salinity Effects," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(4), pages 1-20, February.
    2. Sayed Ameenuddin Irfan & Afza Shafie & Noorhana Yahya & Nooraini Zainuddin, 2019. "Mathematical Modeling and Simulation of Nanoparticle-Assisted Enhanced Oil Recovery—A Review," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(8), pages 1-19, April.
    3. Marzuqa Quraishi & Shashi Kant Bhatia & Soumya Pandit & Piyush Kumar Gupta & Vivek Rangarajan & Dibyajit Lahiri & Sunita Varjani & Sanjeet Mehariya & Yung-Hun Yang, 2021. "Exploiting Microbes in the Petroleum Field: Analyzing the Credibility of Microbial Enhanced Oil Recovery (MEOR)," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(15), pages 1-30, August.
    4. Miu Ito & Yuichi Sugai, 2022. "Fundamental Investigation on a Foam-Generating Microorganism and Its Potential for Mobility Reduction in High-Permeability Flow Channels," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(7), pages 1-14, March.
    5. Bai, Mingxing & Zhang, Zhichao & Cui, Xiaona & Song, Kaoping, 2017. "Studies of injection parameters for chemical flooding in carbonate reservoirs," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 1464-1471.
    6. Xiaoluan Yu & Hua Li & Zhiyong Song & Weiyao Zhu, 2023. "Long-Term Pore-Scale Experiments on MEOR by Surfactant-Producing Microorganisms Reveal the Altering Dominant Mechanisms of Oil Recovery," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(19), pages 1-15, September.
    7. Safdel, Milad & Anbaz, Mohammad Amin & Daryasafar, Amin & Jamialahmadi, Mohammad, 2017. "Microbial enhanced oil recovery, a critical review on worldwide implemented field trials in different countries," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 159-172.
    8. Eunji Hong & Moon Sik Jeong & Tae Hong Kim & Ji Ho Lee & Jin Hyung Cho & Kun Sang Lee, 2019. "Development of Coupled Biokinetic and Thermal Model to Optimize Cold-Water Microbial Enhanced Oil Recovery (MEOR) in Homogenous Reservoir," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(6), pages 1-19, March.

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