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September 5, 2026ACS Environmental AuOpen Access

Microbes Endogenous to Oilsands-Eroding Tributaries Can Enhance Mobilization of Bitumen-Derived Naphthenic Acid Fraction Compounds into Water

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Authors

IMIan J. Vander MeulenDODasiel ObregónACAndrew Conan

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Overview

Experimental study reveals river microbes drive the mobilization of bitumen naphthenic acids into water, highlighting biological controls on petroleum contaminant transport.

Key Points

  • To assess how natural weathering processes and endogenous river microbes influence the leaching, mobilization, and molecular composition of bitumen-derived naphthenic acid fraction compounds in water.
  • Equilibrated historical and freshly collected oil sands from the Steepbank and Ells Rivers with either ion-depleted water or tributary waters under live and autoclaved conditions.
  • Tracked chemical and microbial dynamics across time using liquid chromatography Orbitrap mass spectrometry alongside amplicon-based taxonomic sequencing.
  • Mobilization of naphthenic acid fraction compounds could not be explained purely by abiotic physicochemical leaching, requiring active microbial participation.
  • Autoclaving confirmed that viable microbial consortia significantly altered the molecular composition, behavior, and fate of mobilized petroleum compounds.
  • Water and oil sand matrices became functionally coupled yet taxonomically distinct during equilibration, demonstrating microbial succession and ecological filtering under petroleum stress.

Cite This Study

Meulen et al. (2026) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/6a9bd4216b95aff0620eb889https://doi.org/10.1021/acsenvironau.6c00077
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