LONDON, Sept 7 - British scientists have used microbes to break down toxins in crude oil and say the technique could be used in refining as well as to clear up pollutants left in vast Canadian lakes when oil is extracted from tar sands.
Research published on Monday by microbiologists from the University of Essex showed that acidic compounds that can normally take up to 10 years to break down can be degraded and even neutralised in just days using a mixture of bacteria.
"We've been looking at a small group of compounds in the general toxic mix and we've been able to degrade these compounds using microbes," said Richard Johnson, a microbiologist and PhD student who presented his findings at the Society for General Microbiology's annual meeting in Edinburgh, Scotland.
"Now we want to extend that further and see if we can degrade all the compounds in the toxic mix, using what we have learned from that small group."
Tar sand deposits contain the world's largest supply of oil, and with dwindling supplies of high quality light crude, producers are eager to tap alternative supplies such as heavy crude oils and super heavy crudes like tar sands.
But the process of oil extraction and subsequent refining produces high concentrations of environmentally-threatening toxic by-products.
The most toxic of these are a mixture of compounds known as naphthenic acids that do not break down but persist as pollutants in the water used to extract oil and tar.
In Canada, for example, where oil sands represent the largest oil deposits outside the Middle East and are seen as an important source of secure energy for the United States, Johnson estimated that as much as one billion cubic metres of contaminated water lies in vast toxic lakes.
Johnson, whose research was part funded by British oil consulting firm Oil Plus Ltd, said the chemical structures of the naphthenic acids varied, with some proving more complex and harder to neutralise than others.
But the scientists used enriched cultures of a consortia of bacteria from a coal-tar contaminated site on four naphthenic acids and managed to break down the simpler ones within days.
They now plan to piece together the degradation pathways they have identified and try to develop effective ways of removing naphthenic acids from the environment.
"The hope is that we will be able to remove the toxic compounds as part of the refining process, and also remove the contamination from those lakes as well," Johnson, who has submitted patent applications for his work, said in a telephone interview. "Because we are using microbes, it is very cheap and relatively easy."
In July, Exxon Mobil Corp (XOM.N) signed a $600 million deal with genome pioneer and founder of the privately held Synthetic Genomics firm Craig Venter to work on making biofuel from algae.
Venter has also said he hopes to manipulate organisms to produce biofuels, clean up toxic waste and sequester carbon to slow global warming.
Researchers regularly engineer life forms by adding or deleting genes, but Johnson said his process required no genetic modification since the bacteria used were naturally occurring.
Research published on Monday by microbiologists from the University of Essex showed that acidic compounds that can normally take up to 10 years to break down can be degraded and even neutralised in just days using a mixture of bacteria.
"We've been looking at a small group of compounds in the general toxic mix and we've been able to degrade these compounds using microbes," said Richard Johnson, a microbiologist and PhD student who presented his findings at the Society for General Microbiology's annual meeting in Edinburgh, Scotland.
"Now we want to extend that further and see if we can degrade all the compounds in the toxic mix, using what we have learned from that small group."
Tar sand deposits contain the world's largest supply of oil, and with dwindling supplies of high quality light crude, producers are eager to tap alternative supplies such as heavy crude oils and super heavy crudes like tar sands.
But the process of oil extraction and subsequent refining produces high concentrations of environmentally-threatening toxic by-products.
The most toxic of these are a mixture of compounds known as naphthenic acids that do not break down but persist as pollutants in the water used to extract oil and tar.
In Canada, for example, where oil sands represent the largest oil deposits outside the Middle East and are seen as an important source of secure energy for the United States, Johnson estimated that as much as one billion cubic metres of contaminated water lies in vast toxic lakes.
Johnson, whose research was part funded by British oil consulting firm Oil Plus Ltd, said the chemical structures of the naphthenic acids varied, with some proving more complex and harder to neutralise than others.
But the scientists used enriched cultures of a consortia of bacteria from a coal-tar contaminated site on four naphthenic acids and managed to break down the simpler ones within days.
They now plan to piece together the degradation pathways they have identified and try to develop effective ways of removing naphthenic acids from the environment.
"The hope is that we will be able to remove the toxic compounds as part of the refining process, and also remove the contamination from those lakes as well," Johnson, who has submitted patent applications for his work, said in a telephone interview. "Because we are using microbes, it is very cheap and relatively easy."
In July, Exxon Mobil Corp (XOM.N) signed a $600 million deal with genome pioneer and founder of the privately held Synthetic Genomics firm Craig Venter to work on making biofuel from algae.
Venter has also said he hopes to manipulate organisms to produce biofuels, clean up toxic waste and sequester carbon to slow global warming.
Researchers regularly engineer life forms by adding or deleting genes, but Johnson said his process required no genetic modification since the bacteria used were naturally occurring.
