Biodegradation of Guar Gum in Hydraulic Fracturing Fluid under the Action of Enzyme Preparations of Basidiomycetes

Abstract

Guar gum is a polymer that is widely used as a gelling agent for technological liquids in the petroleum industry. In this paper, we have studied the potential for the environmentally friendly biodegradation of guar gum by enzymes of basidiomycetes for efficient disposal of oil industry wastes. For the first time, we compared the enzymatic activity towards guar gum of seven basidiomycete strains, namely Trametes hirsuta MT-24.24, Lactarius necator, Trametes hirsuta MT-17.24, Schizophyllum commune MT-33.01, Fomes fomentarius MT-4.05, Fomitopsis pinicola MT-5.21, and Trametes versicolor It-1. This comparison showed that the preparation based on Fomitopsis pinicola MT-5.21 fungal mycelium at a concentration of 0.05% provides the most efficient decomposition of a frac fluid containing guar gum. By varying the enzyme concentration in this fluid it is possible to control the decrease in its viscosity over time. The developed enzyme preparation is an efficient and environmentally friendly guar gum biodegradant and can be used to process waste fracturing fluids based on polysaccharides in order to reuse water resources. Key words: biodegradants, basidiomycetes, guar gum, enzymatic hydrolysis, enzyme destructors, fracturing fluids. Funding - The work was financially supported by the National University of Oil and Gas "Gubkin University" (Internal grant no. 120720 "Development of New Biotechnological Methods and Materials for Environmental Protection and Biomedicine").