Team:Lethbridge/ethics

Project Overview

Increasing global oil demands require new, innovative technologies for the extraction of unconventional oil sources such as those found in Alberta’s Carbonate Triangle. Carbonate oil deposits account for almost 50% of the world’s oil reserves and approximately 26% of the bitumen found in Alberta 1. Due to unstable oil prices in Western Canada, these vast reserves have historically been set aside in favour of less time consuming, more economical sites. Microbial enhanced oil recovery (MEOR) has been utilized across the world to increase the productivity of difficult resources including carbonate oil deposits. Using a synthetic biology approach, we have designed the CAB (CO2, acetic acid, and biosurfactant) extraction method that demonstrates a modified MEOR method for extracting carbonate oil deposits. CAB extraction will utilize the natural carbon fixation machinery in the cyanobacteria Synechococcus elongatus to convert CO2 into sugars to fuel acetic acid and biosurfactant production in Escherichia coli. Acetic acid applied to carbonate rock increases the pore sizes and allows for enhanced oil recovery. The reaction produces gases that will help pressurize the well site to facilitate extraction. The natural biosurfactant rhamnolipid will also be applied to the carbonate rock to further enhance extraction yields.

By coupling carbon capture with acetic acid and biosurfactant production, carbonate oil deposits can be mined with reduced greenhouse gas emissions. The use of carbon fixation to feed downstream systems can be tailored for use as a module in many applications requiring inexpensive methods for fueling biological systems. CAB extraction will be suitable for large-scale bioreactors, providing an alternative, inexpensive, and environmentally sustainable method for MEOR from Alberta’s oil deposits. Furthermore, developing the carbon capture module will be of interest in oil extraction strategies using steam, as it will help with the mitigation of CO2 release caused by steam production using for example natural gas.