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Solute Concentrations Influence Microbial Methanogenesis in Coal-bearing Strata of the Cherokee Basin, USA.

ABSTRACT: Microorganisms have contributed significantly to subsurface energy resources by converting organic matter in hydrocarbon reservoirs into methane, the main component of natural gas. In this study, we consider environmental controls on microbial populations in coal-bearing strata of the Cherokee basin, an unconventional natural gas resource in southeast Kansas, USA. Pennsylvanian-age strata in the basin contain numerous thin (0.4-1.1 m) coalbeds with marginal thermal maturities (0.5-0.7% R o ) that are interbedded with shale and sandstone. We collected gas, water, and microbe samples from 16 commercial coalbed methane wells for geochemical and microbiological analysis. The water samples were Na-Cl type with total dissolved solids (TDS) content ranging from 34.9 to 91.3 g L(-1). Gas dryness values [C1/(C2 + C3)] averaged 2640 and carbon and hydrogen isotope ratios of methane differed from those of carbon dioxide and water, respectively, by an average of 65 and 183‰. These values are thought to be consistent with gas that formed primarily by hydrogenotrophic methanogenesis. Results from cultivation assays and taxonomic analysis of 16S rRNA genes agree with the geochemical results. Cultivable methanogens were present in every sample tested, methanogen sequences dominate the archaeal community in each sample (avg 91%), and few archaeal sequences (avg 4.2%) were classified within Methanosarcinales, an order of methanogens known to contain methylotrophic methanogens. Although hydrogenotrophs appear dominant, geochemical and microbial analyses both indicate that the proportion of methane generated by acetoclastic methanogens increases with the solute content of formation water, a trend that is contrary to existing conceptual models. Consistent with this trend, beta diversity analyses show that archaeal diversity significantly correlates with formation water solute content. In contrast, bacterial diversity more strongly correlates with location than solute content, possibly as a result of spatial variation in the thermal maturity of the coalbeds.

SUBMITTER: Kirk MF

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4649258 | biostudies-literature | 2015

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Solute Concentrations Influence Microbial Methanogenesis in Coal-bearing Strata of the Cherokee Basin, USA.

Kirk Matthew F MF Wilson Brien H BH Marquart Kyle A KA Zeglin Lydia H LH Vinson David S DS Flynn Theodore M TM

Frontiers in microbiology 20151118

Microorganisms have contributed significantly to subsurface energy resources by converting organic matter in hydrocarbon reservoirs into methane, the main component of natural gas. In this study, we consider environmental controls on microbial populations in coal-bearing strata of the Cherokee basin, an unconventional natural gas resource in southeast Kansas, USA. Pennsylvanian-age strata in the basin contain numerous thin (0.4-1.1 m) coalbeds with marginal thermal maturities (0.5-0.7% R o ) tha ...[more]

PMID: 26635755

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Project description:Artificially stimulated, high-yield microbial production of methane from coal is a challenging problem that continues to generate research interest. Decomposition of organic matter and production of methane from coal are the results of multiple redox reactions carried out by different communities of bacteria and archaea. Recent work by our group (Beckmann et al., 2015) demonstrated that the presence of the redox-mediating molecule neutral red, in its crystalline form on a coal surface, can increase methane production. However, hydrolysis and the acetogenesis of the coal surface are essential precursor steps for methane production by archaea. Acetogenesis is the preparation phase of methanogenesis because methanogens can only assimilate acetate, CO2 and H2 among the products formed during this process. In the present study, the surface chemical analysis of neutral red treated coal using attenuated total reflectance-fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) demonstrate that the acetate production and resulting oxidation of the coal only occurred at few nanometers into the coal surface (at the nanoscale <5 nm). We observed that in the presence of neutral red and groundwater microbes, acetate signals in coal surface chemistry increased. This is the first evidence suggesting that neutral red enhances the biological conversion of coal into acetate. Microscopy demonstrated that neutral red crystals were co-localize with cells at the surface of coal in groundwater. This is consistent with neutral red crystals serving as a redox hub, concentrating and distributing reducing equivalents amongst the microbial community. In this study, the chemical changes of neutral red treated coal indicated that neutral red doubles the concentration of acetate over the control (coal without neutral red), emphasizing the importance of maximizing the fracture surface coverage of this redox mediator. Overall, results suggested that, neutral red not only can benefit acetoclastic methanogens, but also the fermentative and acetogenic bacteria involved in generating acetate.

Dataset Information

Solute Concentrations Influence Microbial Methanogenesis in Coal-bearing Strata of the Cherokee Basin, USA.

Publications

Solute Concentrations Influence Microbial Methanogenesis in Coal-bearing Strata of the Cherokee Basin, USA.

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