Prospective use of a cell-free supernatant from the biosurfactant-producing marine Planococcus maritimus SAMP MCC 3013 for oil removal and enhanced oil recovery

The cell-free supernatant (CFS) of the biosurfactant (BS) producing pure strain of Planococcus maritimus SAMP MCC 3013 was used for enhanced oil recovery (EOR). An indigenous marine culture of P. maritimus was grown in mineral salt medium (MSM) supplemented with glucose (1%) (w/v) (30°C, 120 rpm, 7 days). CFS was used to demonstrate its application for oil recovery through three assays: pumice stone, saturated gravel, and the glass beads-packed column. The recovery of light paraffin oil was ∼40% in the pumice stone assay and ∼43% in the oil-saturated gravel assay, respectively. The glass bead column demonstrated ∼42% of additional 2T engine oil recovery by CFS. Our study showed that BS containing CFS from P. maritimus SAMP MCC 3013 has the ability to recover oil in its crude form without using any sophisticated purification techniques. All three methods operated by us are harmonizing with each other with respect to the findings. Those methods can be employed in large scale operations for the bio-recovery of oils using an environmentally friendly approach through the functional properties of BS. This is most likely the first report describing the use of a glass bead pack column for EOR applications particularly from Planococcus sp. These results are symbolic of prospective applications of BS containing CFS from indigenous P. maritimus SAMP MCC 3013 under ex-situ conditions.