TABLE OF CONTENTS When thinking about the subject of petroleum bioprocessing, one may imagine its beginning with the oil genesis itself, since bacteria were responsible for alteration, maturation, migration, and preservation of the molecules, which gave rise to the oil. The microbial populations, working in the oil reservoir, influenced the final petroleum product. Indeed, those populations adapted to the reservoir environment under extreme conditions such as pressure, salinity, temperature, etc. The isolation of such microorganisms from extreme environments as well as those from environments exposed to oil (via oil spills, oily wastewater treatment, etc.) has resulted in identification of biological catalysts, which could be used to remove heteroatoms or transform oil components to improve yields and quality of the oil as well as its refined products. Bacteria have evolved to scavenge carbon, sulfur, nitrogen, and metals present in crude oil over time, and such bacteria have served as the source of catalytic materials for oil bioprocessing applications. The understanding that these biological functionalities are a result of evolutionary pressures, serves as inspiration for development of new and emerging technologies. Five main areas of bioprocessing research have emerged in the search for commercial value addition, (1) microbial enhanced oil recovery (MEOR), (2) biodesulfurization, (3) biodenitrogenation, (4) viscosity reduction/biocracking, and (5) biodemetallization. The scope of the present book includes the last four areas of research and development. Results from studies on MEOR, if related to the latter four are included wherever relevant.
Environmental regulations have evolved due to the need to cut down...
