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Review Article

Application of microbial polysaccharides as viscosifier agent for enhanced oil recovery: a comprehensive review

ORCID Icon, ORCID Icon, &
Pages 7329-7345 | Received 15 Nov 2022, Accepted 23 May 2023, Published online: 08 Jun 2023
 

ABSTRACT

Crude oil plays an important role in the energy supplement and is being considered as one of the most important and strategic resources of energy in the world and it acts as the main source of energy in most of the industries. With the increasing demands for crude oil, the need for more efficient production methods has risen day to day. Synthetic polymers have a wide range of applications in Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) Methods as a thickening agent, but their functionality is prone to fail in a harsh environment such as high temperature, high salinity, or shear stress. Biopolymers with firm structure, high resistance, and high thickening effect are completely eco-friendly and capable of being considered one of the best alternatives for synthetic polymers. These high molecular weight macromolecules with stable structure are able to maintain their functionality in the high range of temperatures (up to 100°C) and can improve the oil recovery rate up to 80%. Rheological behaviors of three types of biopolymers with microbial sources were studied through this paper and their strain, structure, and effect on the oil recovery rates were put under the spotlight. Biopolymers’ production methods and conditions were also studied in this research.

GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Armin Abbaspour

Armin Abbaspour is a master student of petroleum engineering at Tarbiat Modares University in Tehran, Iran. His research interests focus on enhanced oil recovery, polymer flooding, microbial enhanced oil recovery, and biopolymer production.

Arezou Jafari

Arezou Jafari is an associate professor at Tarbiat Modares University in Tehran, Iran. Her research interests focus on enhanced oil recovery, modeling and simulation, and transport in porous media.

Ali Maghzi

Ali Maghzi is a Ph.D. candidate of petroleum engineering at Tarbiat Modares University in Tehran, Iran. His research interests focus on enhanced oil recovery, oil upgrading, and oil bio-upgrading.

Seyyed Mohammad Mousavi

Seyyed Mohammad Mousavi is a professor at Tarbiat Modares University in Tehran, Iran. His research interests focus on enviromental biotechnology, bioleaching, and modeling and simulation.

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