Biological removal of pyridine in heavy oil byRhodococcus sp. KCTC 3218

The removal of organic nitrogen compounds present in crude perroleum and shale oils poses a challenging problem in petroleum industries. The deleterious effect of nitrogen compounds on cracking catalysts and the indication that they contribute to gum formation in gasolines are some of these aspects. Pyridine, a representative nitrogen compound in gaavy oil—was degraded byRhodoccus sp. KCTC 3218 in a water-heavy oil two-phase system. The pyridine degradation rate was affected by the presence of hydrocarbons such as n-hexadecane. This microorganism formed flocs which could be a barrier to mass transfer between the cells in flocs and the pyridine dissolved in water. This problem could be overcome by the addition of a surfactant such as Triton X-100. The ratio of water to heavy oil was important to separate the heavy oil phase from the water phase after treating the heavy oil. The culture medium was emulsified by a sort of biosurfactant secreted by this microorganism. The emulsified oil phase returned to its natural state when the ratio of water to heavy oil was 1.5. Above this ratio, the emulsified oil phase remained an emulsion after decantation. Pyridine in heavy oil was completely degraded in 15 hr at this water to heavy oil ratio of 1.5 when the concentration of pyridine in heavy oil was 700 ppm and the cell concentration was 0.32 g DCW/L.