Isolation and characterization of a potential paraffin-wax degrading thermophilic bacterial strain Geobacillus kaustophilus TERI NSM for application in oil wells with paraffin deposition problems

Paraffin deposition problems, that have plagued the oil industry, are currently remediated by mechanical and chemical means. However, since these methods are problematic, a microbiological approach has been considered. The bacteria, required for the mitigation of paraffin deposition problems, should be able to survive the high temperatures of oil wells and degrade the paraffins under low oxygen and nutrient conditions while sparing the low carbon chain paraffins. In this study, a thermophilic paraffinic wax degrading bacterial strain was isolated from a soil sample contaminated with paraffinic crude oil. The selected strain, Geobacillus TERI NSM, could degrade 600 mg of paraffinic wax as the sole carbon source in 1000 ml minimal salts medium in 7 d at 55 °C. This strain was identified as Geobacillus kaustophilus by fatty acid methyl esters analysis and 16S rRNA full gene sequencing. G. kaustophilus TERI NSM showed 97% degradation of eicosane, 85% degradation of pentacosane and 77% degradation of triacontane in 10 d when used as the carbon source. The strain TERI NSM could also degrade the paraffins of crude oil collected from oil wells that had a history of paraffin deposition problems.