BTEXterminator Presented by: Christine M. Muñoz Mentor: Dr. Karen Wawrousek College: College of Engineering and Applied Sciences Department: Chemical Engineering

Background Chemical Engineering major Minor: Pre-Med Internship with Encana Oil & Gas last summer Drilling team Insight into the needs of the industry Water

Scope of the Project Senior Capstone a.k.a. Senior Design My team: Product Design Sought to design Genetically Modified Organism that could reach unmet need of water management in petroleum industry

Industry Lingo Three phases of a well: Drilling, Completion, and Production My focus: Completion (fracking) and Production (the typical pump-jack most people think of) Reservoir: anything down hole Produced water: water existing in the reservoir that is forced to surface due to Completion and Production phases Common components: hydrocarbons (aromatic and straight chained), salts, metals, & reservoir bacteria

BTEXterminator Background Co-culture of two strains of Pseudomonas putida BTE1 TX1 Naturally degrades aromatic hydrocarbons through TOL & TOD pathways BTEX Benzene Toluene Ethylbenzene Xylene

BTEXterminator BTE1 TOD Pathway TX1 TOL Pathway Genetic modification with TOD plasmid Genetic modification with TOL plasmid Modified BTE1 TOD & TOL Modified TX1 TOD & TOL BTEXterminator co-culture

Lab Work Research lab where degradation rate derived sent BTE1 and TX1 strains of P. putida to our lab Grew bacteria in Caso Agar (enriched medium) to characterize bacteria Inoculated medium Sterile medium

Disposal of Produced Water To date: disposal in earthen pit, Salt Water Disposal Well (SWD), or re-used in next frac-job At least 1/3 of well cost to operator Stricter regulations anticipated BTEX levels in produced water SWD becoming less popular solution BTEXterminator can meet need of water disposal Bioremediation more popular Can reuse for operations or sell it for agriculture

Use of BTEXterminator BTEXterminator Fibrous Bed Bioreactor Reference: http://www.clker.com/clipart-pump-jack.html Fibrous Bed Bioreactor

Economics

Broader Impact & Permitting Anticipate stricter regulations Push in major plays for agricultural reuse Political climate plays a role Public perception Genetically modified foods Environmental discharge Powder River Basin-meet WYPDES standards for BTEX levels

Future Work Degradation rate for each strain and co-culture Characterize behavior of product in starvation conditions Viability in produced water Salt & metal tolerance Analyze interactions between reservoir bacteria and product Aeration Immobilization material Different modifications Alternative bacteria Plasmids to aid in viability in produced water

Thank You! Questions?