Petroleum Biotechnology: Developments and Perspectives

This book is one of a kind in the field of petroleum biorefining and biological upgrade of petroleum; it presents a critical review as well as an integrated overview of the potential biochemical processes, bridging the gap between academia and industry. It addresses today’s demanding production challenges, taking into account energy efficient and environmentally friendly processes, and also looks at the future possibility of implementing new refinery systems. Suitable for those practitioners the petroleum industry, students and researchers interested in petroleum biotechnology.

* Covers a new application field for biotechnology
* Looks at innovative processes for the petroleum industry
* Presents examples of modern environmental processes

Use of Petroleum Biotechnology throughout the value chain of an oil company: An integrated approach.

Petroleum biorefining: the selective removal of sulfur, nitrogen, and metals.

Enzymatic catalysis on petroleum products.

Prospects for biological upgrading of heavy oils and asphaltenes.

Whole-cell bio-processing of aromatic compounds in crude oil and fuels.

Biocatalysis by methane monooxygenase and its implications for the petroleum industry.

Biocorrosion.

Molecular tools in microbial corrosion.

Potential applications of bioemulsifiers in the oil industry.

Anaerobic hydrocarbon biodegradation and the prospects for microbial enhanced energy production.

Using nitrate to control microbially-produced hydrogen sulfide in oil field waters.

Regulation of toluene catabolic pathways and toluene efflux pump expression in bacteria of the genus Pseudomonas.


Bacterial hydrocarbon biosynthesis.

The microbial diversity of deep subsurface oil reservoirs.

Biotechnological approach for development of microbial enhanced oil recovery technique.

Phytoremediation of hydrocarbon-contaminated soils: principles and applications.

Biological treatment of polluted air emissions.

Bioremediation of marine oil spills.

Biotreatment of water pollutants from the petroleum industry.