Abstract
Biocorrosion, as well as the biodeterioration of crude oil and its derivatives, is one of the major environmental, operational and economic problems in the Venezuelan oil industry. Fungal contaminants are able to produce large quantities of biomass and synthesize peroxides and organic acids, causing severe damage on metal surfaces and promoting the contamination and biodeterioration of fuels. No evidences regarding fungal strains have been reported to be associated to petroleum naphtha, widely used as a diluent of extra heavy crude oil (EHCO) in the exploitation processes of the Orinoco Oil Belt, the biggest proven reserve of EHCO worldwide. The aims of this paper were to isolate and identify fungal strains from the naphtha storage tank and the naphtha distribution network from an oil field operator in Venezuela. The results showed the isolation of four different fungal strains. The molecular identification by 28S rRNA sequencing and phylogenetic tree analysis allowed us to identify the presence of: 1) a new uncultured Ascomycota fungus species BM-103, with high identity to novel hyphomycetes Noosia banksiae and Sporidesmium tengii, in the naphtha storage tank; 2) two yeasts, Rhodotorula mucilaginosa BM-104 (Phylum Basidiomycota) and Wickerhamia sp. BM-105 (Phylum Ascomycota), in a highly damaged naphtha pipeline branch and; 3) Cladosporium cladosporioides BM-102 (Phylum Ascomycota) in a cluster oil well. DNA fingerprinting analysis using ERIC-PCR primers pairs also allowed us to detect the presence of R. mucilaginosa BM-104 right in the access of the studied naphtha system. Interestingly, R. mucilaginosa and C. cladosporioides were previously reported as predominant fungal contaminants of diesel and jet fuel and of kerosene and fuel storage systems, respectively. This paper represents the first evidence of fungal strains isolated and identified from the naphtha systems in the Venezuelan oil industry. The results obtained are discussed.
Highlights
The electrochemical process where microorganisms initiate, facilitate or accelerate a corrosion reaction on a metal surface is defined as Microbiologically Induced Corrosion (MIC) or biocorrosion
This experiment was conducted in order to determine whether the isolates inside the naphtha storage tanks and transporting pipelines have an intrinsic relationship with microorganisms that may be present in the access of the studied naphtha system
This paper reports for the first time the isolation and identification of R. mucilaginosa, C. cladosporioides, Wickerhamia sp. and a new Ascomycota fungus species BM-103 from the naphtha systems in the Venezuelan oil industry
Summary
The electrochemical process where microorganisms initiate, facilitate or accelerate a corrosion reaction on a metal surface is defined as Microbiologically Induced Corrosion (MIC) or biocorrosion. The Fungal Influenced Corrosion (FIC) incidence is based on terms of organic acids produced by their metabolic activities that cause localized damage on a metal surface. Aspergillus fumigatus, isolated from diesel oil storage tank sludge, is able to synthesize metabolites resulting from the degradation of diesel, influencing the corrosive behavior on carbon steel. In this case, propionic acid was identified, among other metabolites, in the water phase from growth assays after 60-day incubation [4]. Alternaria alternata was described as the most active biodegrader of AD0 quality aluminum [5], and Arthrinium phaeospermum, Aspergillus niger and Chrysosporium merdarium fungi were reported as the fungi that affected most actively steel and Al surfaces [2]
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