Produção biogênica de sulfetos por micro-organismos redutores de sulfato em amostras salinas da indústria do petróleo

Abstract

The production of H2S (hydrogen sulfide) is a major problem in the oil industry, which is a cause of corrosion of pipes and storage tanks. This production is made possible due to seawater injection during the secondary oil recovery process where some microorganisms present in this water, such as total heterotrophic anaerobic bacteria (THAB) and sulphate-reducing bacteria (SRB) that promote reduction of sulfate to sulfide. Currently, the method of quantification of these microorganisms is the technique of the Most Probable Number (MPN) which estimates the results in about 28 days. The present study used the methodology of semi-continuous production of biogenic sulfide by 15 days period, in order to correlate with the measurements results of BANHT and BRS through the conventional technique of MPN. There were several samples analyzed from different origins in the oil industry, with variations in salinity from 0 to 16 g.L-1. The purpose of this procedure was to evaluate the specific speeds and instantaneous H2S production, suggesting thereby that samples had increased biogenic sulfide production and this production conditions which occurs. It was observed that all samples in the generation of H2S occurs incrementally until stabilization of this production, these being almost always obtained in six days (144h) of microbial growth. The production of biogenic sulfide occurred more intensely in the samples of oil storage tank bottom and formation water. The quantification of SRB and THAB were evaluated by the MPN method according to Harrigan table, which underestimates the microbial population, disregarding errors arising in the art