The biofilm property and its correlationship with high-molecular-weight polyacrylamide degradation in a water injection pipeline of Daqing oilfield

Cai Yun Li, Dong Zhang, Xiao Xiao Li, Serge Maurice Mbadinga, Shi Zhong Yang, Jin Feng Liu, Ji Dong Gu, Bo Zhong Mu*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

51 Scopus citations

Abstract

Biofilms increase dragging force for liquid transportation, cause power consumption, and result in equipment corrosion in polymer-flooding oilfields. To reveal the responsible microorganisms for biofilm formation and stability of high-molecular-weight polyacrylamide (PAM), a biofilm, developed on the sieve of a piston plunger pump in a water transport and injection pipeline with partial hydrolyzed polyacrylamide (HPAM) in Daqing Oilfield, was collected and analyzed by molecular microbiology, chemical and physical methods. Diverse bacterial groups (11 families) were detected in the biofilm, including Pseudomonadaceae, Rhodocyclaceae, Desulfobulbaceae, Alcaligenaceae, Comamonadaceae, Oxalobacteraceae, Bacteriovoracaceae, Campylobacteraceae, Flavobacteriaceae, Clostridiales Incertae Sedis XIII and Moraxellaceae. Three archaeal orders of methanogens including Methanomicrobiales, Methanosarcinales and Thermoplasmatales were also detected separately. HPAM was degraded into lower molecular weight polymers and organic fragments with its amide groups hydrolyzed into carboxylic groups by the microorganisms. The microenvironment of the biofilm contained diverse bacterial and archaeal communities, correlating with the extracellular polymeric substance (EPS) and HPAM biodegradation. The results are helpful to provide information for biofilm control in oil fields.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)388-399
Number of pages12
JournalJournal of Hazardous Materials
Volume304
DOIs
StatePublished - 5 Mar 2016
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Biodegradation
  • Biofilm
  • EPS
  • Microbial diversity
  • Polyacrylamide

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