ABSTRACT
A large number of microbial polysaccharides have been tested in the laboratories at UWO for the ability to break the w/o and o/w test emulsion systems. As field petroleum enlulsions are generated as a result of emulsification of various hydrocarbons, it is of interest also to investigate the behavior of other model emulsions when microbial cultures are added to those. The three most likely sources of de-emulsifiers in the microbial culture are: the cell wall, the cell membrane, and the bulk medium. Biotechnology research is focused to improve the economic competitiveness of microbial products in general and microbial de-emulsifiers in particular. Microbial exopolysaccharides have attracted considerable attention for the role they play in cell adhesion and for the importance of polysaccharides as viscosity-controlling agents in tertiary oil recovery. A linear correlation was seen when the percent clay in the w/o emulsion was plotted against the rate of de-emulsification.
