EVALUATION OF THE PURIFICATION PROCESS IN RHAMNOLIPID BIOSURFACTANT FOR APPLICATION IN MICROBIAL-ENHANCED OIL RECOVERY (MEOR)

Biosurfactants are employed in several industrial applications which require a high purity level. However, the downstream purification processes are responsible for a large portion of the expenses incurred by biosurfactant production plants. The high costs associated with these processes turn their application on a large scale a challenge for companies. This study aimed to evaluate the influence of the purification step on the capacity of the rhamnolipid produced by a Pseudomonas aeruginosa strain to recover oil. Both purified and non-purified biosurfactants were efficient in their ability to recover oil. The best result, for the API gravity oil of 27.67, presented a total Recovery Factor of 47.45±1.78%, in which 10.2±0.85% corresponds to the MEOR. However, the results show that non-purified biosurfactant was more efficient in terms of amount of oil recovered during the MEOR stage. This demonstrates that the purification step may not be necessary, reducing the production costs of the rhamnolipid.