The DOI matches its Crossref record; 31 of the 31 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Biodegradation of Short-Chain n -Alkanes in Oil Sands Tailings under Methanogenic Conditions
Abstract
The biodegradation of a mixture of low molecular weight n-alkanes (C6, C7, C8, and C10) was assessed under methanogenic conditions using mature fine tailings (MFT) produced by the oil sands industry in Alberta, Canada. Microorganisms present in the MFT mineralized the added n-alkane mixture, producing 16.2 (+/- 0.3) or 20.5 (+/- 0.1) mmol of methane in the headspace of microcosms spiked with 0.2% or 0.5% w/v n-alkanes, respectively, during 29 weeks of incubation. The spiked n-alkanes biodegraded in the sequence C10 > C8 > C7 > C6. Degradation of 100% C10, 97% C8, 74% C7, and 44% C6 occurred in a mixture of n-alkanes in the MFT spiked at 0.2% after 25 weeks of incubation. The same pattern of biodegradation was also observed in the MFT spiked with 0.5% n-alkanes. Stoichiometric calculations confirmed the mineralization of the degraded n-alkanes to methane. This study showed that the short-chain n-alkanes, which comprise a significant portion of the unrecovered naphtha used in bitumen extraction and released into the settling basins, can be biodegraded into methane. These findings may influence decisions regarding extraction processes and long-term management of MFT, and they suggest that intrinsic, methanogenic metabolism of these n-alkanes may occur in other anoxic environments.
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“Lost diluent is a known cause for CH4 emissions from OSTPs (Siddique et al., 2006)”
From Decoding methane concentration in Alberta oil sands: A machine learning exploration (2025) · cites this paper as Siddique et al., 2006
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Milkov, A. V. (2010) · Organic Geochemistry · doi:10.1016/j.orggeochem.2010.12.003 · Cited by 256
Simpson, I. J., Blake, N. J., Barletta, B., Diskin, G. S., Fuelberg, H. E., Gorham, K. A., Huey, L. G., Meinardi, S., Rowland, F. S., Vay, S. A., et al. (2010) · Atmospheric chemistry and physics · doi:10.5194/acp-10-11931-2010 · Cited by 245
Bioenergy Production via Microbial Conversion of Residual Oil to Natural Gas
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Gray, N., Sherry, A., Grant, R. J., Rowan, A. K., Hubert, C. R. J., Callbeck, C. M., Aitken, C. M., Jones, D. M., Adams, J. J., Larter, S., et al. (2011) · Environmental Microbiology · doi:10.1111/j.1462-2920.2011.02570.x · Cited by 242
Microbial communities involved in anaerobic degradation of alkanes
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Metadata
- Authors
- Siddique, T., Fedorak, P. M., & Foght, J. M.
- Affiliations
- University of Alberta (CA)
- Corresponding author
- Foght, Julia M.
- Venue
- Environmental Science & Technology
- Publisher
- American Chemical Society (ACS)
- Published
- 2006-08-03
- Volume
- 40
- Issue
- 17
- Pages
- 5459-5464
- ISSN
- 0013-936X (ISSN-L)
- 1520-5851
- OpenAlex
- W2060907007
- Cited by
- 197
- References
- 31
- Citations by year
- 2026: 7 · 2025: 11 · 2024: 9 · 2023: 8 · 2022: 1 · 2021: 15 · 2020: 11 · 2019: 12 · 2018: 11 · 2017: 7 · 2016: 21 · 2015: 14 · 2014: 21 · 2013: 9 · 2012: 9
- FWCI
- 3.68
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Environmental Science & Technology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- Canadian Natural Resources Limited
- Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Pollution › Microbial bioremediation and biosurfactants
- Physical Sciences › Energy › Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment › Anaerobic Digestion and Biogas Production
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Environmental Chemistry › Environmental Chemistry and Analysis
- Keywords
- n-alkane degradation, short-chain alkanes, mature fine tailings, oil sands, methane production, naphtha, bitumen extraction, anoxia, microcosm incubation, stoichiometric analysis, tailings management
- MeSH terms
- Alkanes, Methane, Molecular Weight, Silicon Dioxide, Soil Microbiology, Soil Pollutants
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