• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.183-186
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• 2011

Biochemical methods were selected to evaluate the role of exopolymeric substances in the stability of biofilms used in bioremediation processes. Biofilms of Thiomonas arsenivorans formed on pozzolana were thus treated with pronase (protein target), lectins (Con A or PNA), calcofluor or periodic acid (polysaccharides target), DNase (DNA target), and lipase (triglycerides target). Neither protease nor DNase treatments had any effect on bacterial adhesion. Lectins and calcofluor treatments mainly affected young biofilms. Lipase treatment had a noticeable effect on biofilm stability whatever the biofilm age. Results suggest that it would be an increased resistance of mature biofilms that protects them from external attacks.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.19 no.10
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• pp.1230-1237
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• 2009

The selective plugging strategy of Microbial Enhanced Oil Recovery (MEOR) involves the use of microbes that grow and produce exopolymeric substances, which block the high permeability zones of an oil reservoir, thus allowing the water to flow through the low permeability zones leading to increase in oil recovery. Bacillus licheniformis TT33, a hot water spring isolate, is facultatively anaerobic, halotolerant, and thermotolerant. It produces EPS as well as biosurfactant and has a biofilm-forming ability. The viscosity of its cell-free supernatant is $120\;mPa{\cdot}s$ at $28^{\circ}C$. Its purified EPS contained 26% carbohydrate and 3% protein. Its biosurfactant reduced the surface tension of water from 72 to 34 mN/m. This strain gave $27.7{\pm}3.5%$ oil recovery in a sand pack column. Environmental scanning electron microscopy analysis showed bacterial growth and biofilm formation in the sand pack. Biochemical tests and Amplified Ribosomal DNA Restriction Analysis confirmed that the oil recovery obtained in the sand pack column was due to Bacillus licheniformis TT33.