Novel sucrose lipid produced by Serratia marcescens and its application in enhanced oil recovery

Serratia marcescens MTCC 86 when grown on sucrose produced a novel sucrose lipid that was different from the amino lipid produced from n ‐alkane by other strains of S. marcescens . The sucrose lipid isolated by acetone precipitation technique was found to be predominantly a mixture of 3‐(3′‐hydroxytetradecanoyloxy) decanoate and 3‐(3′‐hydroxyhexadecenoyloxy) decanoate. This sucrose lipid exhibited excellent emulsification activity with a wide variety of hydrocarbons. It was effective in recovering up to 90% residual oil from the oilsaturated sandpack column suggesting its use in enhanced oil recovery. It also showed a strong ability to remove oil from the walls of the containers, indicating its potential use in cleaning operations.