Petroleum bioconversion of organic acids to prevent refinery corrosion

摘要

The present invention relates to the use of microorganisms (biocatalysts), or catalysts derived from these organisms (enzymes), to improve the quality of crude oil and bitumen as an attractive alternative to current upgrading methods. The invention identifies and characterizes the microorganism species, in particular, N. muscorum (UTEX 2209) and Kocuria rhizophilia (ATCC533), that have the capability to biochemically convert organic acids into chemical species that do not possess corrosive properties.

主权项

1. A process for decreasing the acidity of organic acid containing crude oil, comprising:
(a) contacting an acidic crude oil containing organic acid with at least one enzyme extracted from Nostoc muscorum (UTEX 2209) or Kocuria rhizophilia (ATCC533), in a buffer solution comprising MgCl2 and dithiothreitol (DTT) at a pH of 8 or between 6 and 8, at a temperature of 20° C. to 50° C. and ambient pressure, and (b) incubating the mixture obtained from step (a) under suitable conditions to convert the acids in the crude oil to non-acidic hydrocarbon products.