Bioelectrodegradación de Hidrocarburos en Emulsión O/W.

Abstract

The research was carried out to know the functioning of the bioelectrochemical system to establish parameters that allow evaluating the biodegradation of oil in water sources contaminated with hydrocarbons. Native microorganisms (bacteria) were used within the Pungarayacu and mountain fields for the bioelectrodegradation of hydrocarbons in emulsion with water. The design of the bioelectrochemical system integrated by the cell and the emulsions, with their different schemes and applications, were conditioned according to the available bibliography and the ingenuity of the tutors. The research was developed in different laboratories of the National Polytechnic School with the collaboration of its technicians and laboratory assistants. The bacteria were handled through the techniques of isolation, reproduction, and identification of microorganisms, determining that the bacteria of biodegradation in the bioelectrochemical system were Bacillus and Cocos. The bioelectrochemical system was developed in the laboratory of the Faculty of Geology and Petroleum Engineering, where statistical data were collected to analyze the results of biodegradation at different temperature, amperage, and voltage conditions. From the results obtained in the Laboratory of Instrumental Analysis of the Faculty of Chemistry, it is observed that biodegradation affects the internal structure of the samples, showing an important change at the beginning and at the end of the study; this is due to the change that the functional groups of oil undergo during the internal process in the bioelectrochemical system. As a general conclusion, it is established that biodegradation in the bioelectrochemical system, depending on the parameters used, presents slightly visible results, but they are significant in the biodegradation of oil.