What the facility does
Petroleum microbiology related to hydrocarbon biodegradation, bioremediation, enhanced oil recovery, biocorrosion, oil sands tailings pond microbiology, and identifying and characterizing microbial communities and their functions in diverse environments
Areas of expertise
The laboratory is equipped to address fundamental and applied research questions related to the roles that microbes play in the oil and gas industry, either beneficially or detrimentally. Infrastructure is available to address research questions or problems using cultivation, analytical chemistry, and molecular biology approaches.
Research services
Analytical chemistry, Molecular biology
Sectors of application
- Chemical industries
- Clean technology
- Energy
- Environmental technologies and related services
- Mining, minerals and metals
Specialized labs and equipment
| Equipment | Function |
|---|---|
| Gas chromatograph-Flame Ionization Detector (GC-FID) | Analysis of oil and oil-related components |
| Gas chromatograph-Thermal Conductivity Detector (GC-TCD) | Analysis of gases related to petroleum and microbial metabolism |
| Gas chromatograph-Mass Spectrometer (GC-MS) | Hydrocarbon and microbial metabolite analysis |
| High Pressure Liquid/Ion Chromatograph | Analysis of anions and a variety of water soluble components |
| Thermocyclers | Regular and quantitative thermocyclers to amplify and quantify genes |
| Centrifuges | Processing of cells and subcellular components for biodegradation studies and enzymatic transformations |
| Microtox® | Measures toxicity as indicator of successful biodegradation/biodetoxification |
Private and public sector research partners
- Canada's Oil Sands Innovation Alliance
- Canada School of Energy and Environment
- Genome Canada
- InnoTech Alberta
Additional information
| Title | URL |
|---|---|
| Research Project Focuses on Microbial-Induced Pipeline Corrosion, Materials Performance (NACE International), March 2017, Vol. 56, No. 3, pp. 14-17. | http://www.materialsperformance.com/articles/material-selection-design/2017/05/research-project-foc… |