Composition of Xanthan gum produced by Xanthomonas campestris using produced water from a carbonated oil field through Raman spectroscopy

Abstract Produced water (PW) is a by-product generated throughout oil exploration. Geological formation and geographical location of the reservoir influence its physical, chemical and biological characteristics. Xanthan gum (XG), an exopolysaccharide (EPS) produced by Xanthomonas campestris, has been widely used in enhanced oil recovery (EOR) technology because of its high viscosity, pseudoplastic behavior, stability in function of salinity, temperature and alkaline conditions. The production of XG may be affected by the composition of the PW, where the acetyl and pyruvyl radicals may be present in the mannoses. The aim of this study was to evaluate the composition of XG produced by X. campestris, particularly the amount of Xanthan, acetyl and pyruvyl groups, in culture mediums containing distilled (DW) or produced (PW) water in different concentrations, by means of dispersive Raman spectroscopy (1064 nm). The spectra of XG showed peaks referred to the main constituents of the Xanthan (glucose, mannose and glucuronic acid). Spectral features assigned to pyruvyl were seen in all samples mainly at ~1010 cm−1, with higher intensity when using DW and 25% PW. PCA loadings showed that the peaks assigned to pyruvyl are consistent to presence of sodium pyruvate (~1040/~1050 and ~ 1432 cm−1) and were higher in the samples obtained in 25% PW. ANOVA GLM applied to Raman peaks of interest (~1010 and ~ 1090 cm−1) and to PCA scores (Score 1 to Score 3) showed that both were influenced by the type of water used in the culture medium, where the XG were strongly reduced in the groups PW compared to DW while the pyruvyl content increased proportionally with the concentration of PW. The results suggest that the composition of the water used in the bacteria's culture medium influenced the composition of XG, including the amount of Xanthan and particularly the pyruvyl content, and therefore needs to be considered when using this approach of injecting XG in oil fields as pyruvyl content affects viscosity.