EXOPOLISACARIDES PRODUCTION IN AEROBIC REACTOR THROUGH ENERGY INDUSTRY WASTES
Produced Water. Xanthomonas campestris. Crude glycerin. Recycling. Raman spectroscopy
The sustainable management of produced water (PW) poses a challenge to the oil industry. A biological method was evaluated for the treatment of this by-product in conditions of high salinity, through the production of the xanthan gum exopolysaccharide in culture containing produced water, sucrose, crude glycerin and constituents of mineral saline medium. This topic aims to solve the limitations of produced water use and contributes to its reuse for the production of an product used in the oil extraction chain. Xanthan gum production was achieved until the concentration of 25% of PW in the production medium. In a stirred tank reactor the batch with dialysed produced water (DPW) produced 25% more xanthan gum (p <0.01) than the control with distilled water (dW). Energy dispersion X-ray spectroscopy and Scanning Electron Microscopy demonstrated the incorporation of salts and metals from PW into xanthan gum. Analysis by Raman Spectroscopy showed that the exopolysaccharide has a chemical profile similar with xanthan gum and its composition was influenced by PW concentration, specifically regarding the carbohydrates content as well as pyruvate. Rheologically, it was observed that with up to 10% PW, solutions with total viscosity similar to the control produced with dW were obtained. The developed technology makes it possible to recycle PW and crude glycerin to generate xanthan gum as well as to reduce the consumption of drinkable water in the biopolymers industry. The association of alkaline stress with the surfactant Triton X-100 increased the production and quality of xanthan gum, with maximum values of 88.72% of production and 190.35% of viscosity in the medium prepared with DPW (P < 0.0001). The technology developed “surfactant/alkali stress” is an innovative way of reducing production costs and increasing the quality of EPS xanthan gum.