Interaction between Illite and a Pseudomonas stutzeri -Heavy Oil Biodegradation Complex

• Published in: Microorganisms (Basel) Vol. 11; no. 2; p. 330
• Main Authors: Li, Lei, Wan, Yun Yang, Mu, Hong Mei, Shi, Sheng Bao, Chen, Jian Fa
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 28.01.2023; MDPI
• Subjects: Acids; Adsorbents; Adsorption; Aromatic hydrocarbons; Biodegradation; Cadmium; Clay; Clay minerals; Crude oil; Earth crust; heavy oil; Hydrocarbons; Illite; inhibition; Metabolism; Microorganisms; Minerals; Nutrients; Oil; Pseudomonas; Pseudomonas stutzeri; Room temperature; Saturated hydrocarbons; Soil contamination; stimulation; Surfactants; China; illite; biodegradation; inhibition; heavy oil; Pseudomonas stutzeri; stimulation
• ISSN: 2076-2607; 2076-2607
• DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms11020330

Illite is a widely distributed clay mineral with huge reserves in Earth's crust, but its effect on heavy oil biodegradation is rarely reported. This study made an investigation of the interactions between illite and a -heavy oil complex ( HO). Results showed that, although illite exerted a negative effect on degrading heavy oil by inhibiting the biodegradation of 64 saturated hydrocarbons (SHs) and 50 aromatic hydrocarbons (AHs), it selectively stimulated the biodegradation of 45 AHs with a specific structure, and its biogenic kaolinization at room temperature (35 °C) and pressure (1 atm) was observed in HO for the first time. The finding points out for the first time that, in HO, illite may change the quasi-sequential of AHs biodegradation of heavy oil, as well as its kaolinization without clay intermediate.