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Anaerobic oxidation of hydrocarbons in crude oil by new types of sulphate-reducing bacteria

Nature volume 372, pages 455–458 (1994)Cite this article

Abstract

MANY crude oil constituents are biodegradable in the presence of oxygen; however, a substantial anaerobic degradation has never been demonstrated1,2. An unusually low content of n-alkanes in oils of certain deposits is commonly attributed to selective utilization of these hydrocarbons by aerobic microorganisms3,4. On the other hand, oil wells and production fluids were shown to harbour anaerobic sulphate-reducing bacteria5–8, but their actual electron donors and carbon sources were unknown. On the basis of nutritional properties of various bacterial isolates it was assumed that fatty acids and H2 are potential electron donors for sulphate reduction in situ5–8. Here we demonstrate that hydrocarbons in crude oil are used directly by sulphate-reducing bacteria growing under strictly anoxic conditions. A moderately thermophilic pure culture selectively utilizesn-alkanes in oil for sulphate reduction to sulphide. In addition, a mesophilic sulphate-reducing enrichment culture is shown to oxidize alkylbenzenes in oil. Thus, sulphate-reducing bacteria utilizing aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbons as electron donors may present a significant source of sulphide in oil deposits and oil production plants.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Max-Planck-lnstitut für Marine Mikrobiologie, Fahrenheitstr. 1, D-28359, Bremen, Germany

    Petra Rueter, Ralf Rabus, Frank Aeckersberg & Friedrich Widdel

  2. Institut für Erdöl und Organische Geochemie (ICG-4), Forschungszentrum Jüiich GmbH, Leo-Brandt-Strasse, D-52428, Jülich, Germany

    Heinz Wilkest

  3. Deutsche Sammlung von Mikroorganismen, Mascheroder Weg 1b, D-38124, Braunschweig, Germany

    Fred A. Rainey

  4. Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, Massachusetts, 02543, USA

    Holger W. Jannasch

Authors
  1. Petra Rueter
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  2. Ralf Rabus
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  3. Heinz Wilkest
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  4. Frank Aeckersberg
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  5. Fred A. Rainey
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  6. Holger W. Jannasch
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  7. Friedrich Widdel
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Rueter, P., Rabus, R., Wilkest, H. et al. Anaerobic oxidation of hydrocarbons in crude oil by new types of sulphate-reducing bacteria. Nature 372, 455–458 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1038/372455a0

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