**Meet the editor**

Laura Romero-Zerón is a chemical engineer and an associate professor in the Chemical Engineering Department, at the University of New Brunswick, Fredericton, Canada. Previously, she worked at the Research Center of "Petróleos the Venezuela" (PDVSA) as a research scientist in the area of enhanced oil recovery (EOR). She holds a PhD degree in Chemical & Petroleum Engineer-

ing from the University of Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Her research interests include optimization of EOR chemical flooding, evaluation of the mechanisms of polymer gels as conformance-improvement agents, heavy oil recovery, and bitumen upgrading. Romero-Zerón has published several scientific papers and is the co-author of a book in the area of reservoir conformance-improvement. She is a SPE member and holds the SPE Petroleum Engineering Certification.

Contents

**Preface IX** 

Chapter 2 **The Application of** 

Laura Romero-Zerón

Martin A. Fernø

and Obinna A. Oje

Jinlan Xu

**Section 1 Introduction to Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) 1** 

Chapter 1 **Advances in Enhanced Oil Recovery Processes 3** 

Khaled Abdalla Elraies and Isa M. Tan

Chapter 4 **Enhanced Oil Recovery in Fractured Reservoirs 89** 

Dorota Wolicka and Andrzej Borkowski

Chapter 6 **Comprehensive Perspectives in Bioremediation** 

Chapter 7 **Hydrocarbon Pollution: Effects on Living Organisms,** 

Shukla Abha and Cameotra Swaranjit Singh

Chapter 8 **Bioremediation of Crude Oil Contaminated** 

Chapter 3 **Microbial Enhanced Oil Recovery 71** 

Chapter 5 **Microorganisms and Crude Oil 113** 

**a New Polymeric Surfactant for Chemical EOR 45** 

Hamid Rashedi, Fatemeh Yazdian and Simin Naghizadeh

**Section 2 Environmental Management Through Bioremediation 111** 

**of Crude Oil Contaminated Environments 143**  Chukwuma S. Ezeonu, Ikechukwu N.E. Onwurah

**Remediation of Contaminated Environments, and Effects of Heavy Metals Co-Contamination on Bioremediation 185** 

**Soil by Petroleum-Degrading Active Bacteria 207** 

## Contents

## **Preface XI**


Jinlan Xu


#### Chapter 10 **Crude Oil Metagenomics for Better Bioremediation of Contaminated Environments 261**  Ines Zrafi-Nouira, Dalila Saidane-Mosbahi, Sghir Abdelghani, Amina Bakhrouf and Mahmoud Rouabhia

Chapter 11 **Oil-Spill Bioremediation, Using a Commercial Biopreparation "MicroBak" and a Consortium of Plasmid-Bearing Strains "V&O" with Associated Plants 291**  Andrey Filonov, Anastasia Ovchinnikova, Anna Vetrova, Irina Puntus, Irina Nechaeva, Kirill Petrikov, Elena Vlasova, Lenar Akhmetov, Alexander Shestopalov, Vladimir Zabelin and Alexander Boronin

## Preface

Worldwide, crude oil demand is unceasingly increasing. As a response, Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) processes have re‐gained interest from the research and development phases to the oilfield EOR implementation stage. This renewed interest has been also furthered by the current high oil price environment, the maturation of oilfields worldwide, and few new‐well discoveries. Concurrently, environmental concerns and public pressure related to crude oil pollution control and remediation of oil‐ contaminated sites are becoming greater than ever.

This book provides a concise and accurate introduction of enhanced oil recovery (EOR) processes and bioremediation of oil‐contaminated environments. The book is structured in two sections. The first section, which contains 4 chapters, presents a brief and simplified description of the mechanisms of primary and secondary oil recovery processes and clearly explains the need for the implementation of EOR processes to boost the recovery of oil and/or to displace and produce the significant amounts of oil left behind in the reservoir after or during the course of any primary and secondary recovery process. The mechanisms, limitations, and problems encounter during the application of EOR methods are succinctly reviewed. This section also highlights the emerging EOR technological trends and presents key EOR areas that need to evolve through research and development.

The second section of the book focuses on the use of biological action to remediate the inevitable environmental footprint of crude oil production; such is the case of accidental oil spills on aqueous (i.e. marine, river) and land environments. This section is structured in seven chapters and begins introducing specific microorganisms that are capable of living in and/or degrading crude oil. Then, it reviews the concepts of bioremediation, phytoremediation, and biomonitoring. It also provides practical information on the isolation and evaluation of petroleum degrading microorganisms and discusses the main variables affecting bioremediation of aqueous (marine, river) and land sites contaminated with crude oil. Furthermore, it introduces crude oil metagenomics, which is an emerging biotechnology useful to improve the evaluation of the diversity, identification, isolation, and functional properties of microorganisms involved in the degradation of different petroleum compounds. The molecular analysis of the bacterial composition present in polluted sites represents an essential stage to improve the current understanding of the microorganisms involved in the

#### X Preface

degradation of hydrocarbons. This section closes with insights on the mixture of microorganisms to formulate highly efficient bio‐consortia to target the degradation and efficient removal of crude oil pollutants from contaminated environments.

This book is target to a wide range of readers who might have some basic knowledge in these subjects but are looking for more matter‐of‐fact information. Thus, through this book practical concepts in enhanced oil recovery methods and bioremediation of oil‐polluted sites were grouped, structured, and placed all together in context with the ultimate goal of being useful for a non‐specialized audience. Thus, this book is useful for university students (undergraduate and graduate students), oilfield operators, reservoir engineers, environmental engineering professionals, oil business managers and/or executives, among others.

The sources used to aid in the writing process consisted mainly on the review of the most recent scientific literature in these fields and on discussion of current research and development conducted directly by the authors and co‐authors of some of the chapters. The main objective is to provide state of the art information on the emerging technological trends in the fields of EOR and bioremediation.

Finally, I would like to express my appreciation and thankfulness to the authors and coauthors who contributed writing the different chapters of the book. I also gratefully recognize, the effort and time devoted by the technical reviewers and editors team, who helped and contributed towards the writing process and publishing of this book.

> **Laura Romero‐Zerón** Chemical Engineering Department University of New Brunswick Canada

X Preface

and/or executives, among others.

degradation of hydrocarbons. This section closes with insights on the mixture of microorganisms to formulate highly efficient bio‐consortia to target the degradation

This book is target to a wide range of readers who might have some basic knowledge in these subjects but are looking for more matter‐of‐fact information. Thus, through this book practical concepts in enhanced oil recovery methods and bioremediation of oil‐polluted sites were grouped, structured, and placed all together in context with the ultimate goal of being useful for a non‐specialized audience. Thus, this book is useful for university students (undergraduate and graduate students), oilfield operators, reservoir engineers, environmental engineering professionals, oil business managers

The sources used to aid in the writing process consisted mainly on the review of the most recent scientific literature in these fields and on discussion of current research and development conducted directly by the authors and co‐authors of some of the chapters. The main objective is to provide state of the art information on the emerging

Finally, I would like to express my appreciation and thankfulness to the authors and coauthors who contributed writing the different chapters of the book. I also gratefully recognize, the effort and time devoted by the technical reviewers and editors team, who helped and contributed towards the writing process and publishing of this book.

**Laura Romero‐Zerón**

Canada

Chemical Engineering Department University of New Brunswick

technological trends in the fields of EOR and bioremediation.

and efficient removal of crude oil pollutants from contaminated environments.

**Section 1** 

**Introduction to Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR)** 
