Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33428324›Full record

ArticleMicrobial biotechnology2021

Enzyme biotechnology development for treating polymers in hydraulic fracturing operations.

Gabrielle Scheffer, Carolina Berdugo-Clavijo, Arindom Sen, Lisa M Gieg

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Microbial biotechnology, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
7citing papers in PubMed
0.4field-weighted citation impact, top 50% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

7 citing papers in PubMed, 9 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Review
  2. Polymer biodegradation byApplied and environmental microbiology · 2025
    Article
  3. Article
  4. Novel thermophilic generaFrontiers in microbiology · 2024
    Article
  5. Article
  6. Review
  7. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Gabrielle SchefferDepartment of Biological Sciences, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada.
Carolina Berdugo-ClavijoDepartment of Biological Sciences, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada.
Arindom SenDepartment of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, Schulich School of Engineering, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada.ORCID 0000-0002-8994-8601
Lisa M GiegDepartment of Biological Sciences, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada.ORCID 0000-0001-6110-7803
University of Calgary · CA

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) is a polymer used in many different industrial sectors. In the oil and gas industry, CMC is often used during hydraulic fracturing (fracking) operations as a thickening agent for effective proppant delivery. Accumulations of CMC at fracture faces (known as filter cakes) can impede oil and gas recovery. Although chemical oxidizers are added to disrupt these accumulations, there is industrial interest in developing alternative, enzyme-based treatments. Little is known about CMC biodegradation under fracking conditions. Here, we enriched a methanogenic CMC-degrading culture and demonstrated its ability to enzymatically utilize CMC under the conditions that typify oil fields. Using the extracellular enzyme fraction from the culture, significant CMC viscosity reduction was observed between 50 and 80˚C, at salinities up to 20% (w/v) and at pH 5-8 compared to controls. Similar levels of viscosity reduction by extracellular enzymes were observed under oxic and anoxic conditions. This proof-of-concept study demonstrates that enzyme biotechnology holds great promise as a viable approach to treating CMC filter cakes under oilfield conditions.

Indexed as

Hydraulic FrackingBiodegradation, EnvironmentalBiotechnologyOil and Gas FieldsPolymersPolymers

Identifiers

PMID33428324
PMCPMC8085988
OpenAlexW3120293134

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.