What is MEOR?

MEOR is microbial enhanced oil recovery.  Some microbes produce biosurfactants that increase the water-solubility of oil.  The biosurfactants’ benefit microbes by making it easier for the microbes to metabolize oil.  Additionally, the biosurfactants can strip oil from rock and soil surfaces to improve environmental remediation by extraction, air stripping, or sparging.

The Pseudomonas sp. in Petrox are naturally occuring petroleum-degrading microbes with the broadest metabolic capabilities.  Their production of biosurfactants is one of their features that makes them so effective.  Pseudomonas sp. produce both glycolipid and lipopeptide surfactants.

An initial increase in concentrations may be observed after Petrox is used at a site due to the biosurfactants.  However, the concentrations decrease as the microbes metabolize the oil.  This feature has been used to remove oil safely from inaccessible or sensitive locations such as near utilities, tanks or building structures.

Micorbial Insights, Inc. (micorbe.com) has biosurfactant assays available t0 test for the presence of the genes in Pseudomonas sp. and other organisms that produce biosurfactants.  If tests show that they are abscent from a site, you can enhance the oil recovery with Petrox and the surfactants it produces.

In addition to the biosurfactants that Petrox produces, a non-ionic surfactant is added to Petrox to formulate Petrox EC.  This combination makes Petrox EC a strong cleaning agent to remove oil and grease from surfaces or contaminated subsurface soil or rock.

CL Solutions continues to expand the use of biological products such as Petrox and Petrox EC for bioremediation and microbial enhanced oil recovery.