Effect of Sterilization by Dry Heat or Autoclaving on Bacterial Penetration through Berea Sandstone.

A study was undertaken to determine why bacteria could penetrate lengths of consolidated sandstone (Berea) faster when the sandstone was sterilized by autoclaving than when dry heat (150 degrees C, 3 h) was used. Changes in permeability, porosity, and pore entrance size of the rock as a result of autoclaving were not sufficient to explain the differences in penetration times observed, but electron dispersion spectroscopy and electron microscopy of the rock revealed changes in mineral composition and clay morphology. Autoclaved cores contained more chloride than dry-heated cores, and the clays of autoclaved cores were aggregated and irregularly shaped. Therefore, the decreases in bacterial penetration rates caused by autoclave sterilization were probably the result of a change in surface charge of the pores of the rock and of a reduction in surface area of clays available for adhesion. The results implied that dry-heat sterilization was preferable to autoclaving when examining biotic and abiotic interactions in a native-state rock model.