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Tyne RL, Barry PH, Lawson M, Lloyd KG, Giovannelli D, Summers ZM, Ballentine CJ. Identifying and Understanding Microbial Methanogenesis in CO 2 Storage. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 2023. [PMID: 37327355 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.2c08652] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
Carbon capture and storage (CCS) is an important component in many national net-zero strategies. Ensuring that CO2 can be safely and economically stored in geological systems is critical. To date, CCS research has focused on the physiochemical behavior of CO2, yet there has been little consideration of the subsurface microbial impact on CO2 storage. However, recent discoveries have shown that microbial processes (e.g., methanogenesis) can be significant. Importantly, methanogenesis may modify the fluid composition and the fluid dynamics within the storage reservoir. Such changes may subsequently reduce the volume of CO2 that can be stored and change the mobility and future trapping systematics of the evolved supercritical fluid. Here, we review the current knowledge of how microbial methanogenesis could impact CO2 storage, including the potential scale of methanogenesis and the range of geologic settings under which this process operates. We find that methanogenesis is possible in all storage target types; however, the kinetics and energetics of methanogenesis will likely be limited by H2 generation. We expect that the bioavailability of H2 (and thus potential of microbial methanogenesis) will be greatest in depleted hydrocarbon fields and least within saline aquifers. We propose that additional integrated monitoring requirements are needed for CO2 storage to trace any biogeochemical processes including baseline, temporal, and spatial studies. Finally, we suggest areas where further research should be targeted in order to fully understand microbial methanogenesis in CO2 storage sites and its potential impact.
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Affiliation(s)
- R L Tyne
- Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, Massachusetts 02543, United States
| | - P H Barry
- Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, Massachusetts 02543, United States
| | | | - K G Lloyd
- University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee 37996, United States
| | - D Giovannelli
- University of Naples Federico II, Naples 80138 Italy
| | - Z M Summers
- LanzaTech, Skokie, Illinois 60077, United States
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Genome-Resolved Meta-Analysis of the Microbiome in Oil Reservoirs Worldwide. Microorganisms 2021; 9:microorganisms9091812. [PMID: 34576708 PMCID: PMC8465018 DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms9091812] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/30/2021] [Revised: 08/18/2021] [Accepted: 08/19/2021] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Microorganisms inhabiting subsurface petroleum reservoirs are key players in biochemical transformations. The interactions of microbial communities in these environments are highly complex and still poorly understood. This work aimed to assess publicly available metagenomes from oil reservoirs and implement a robust pipeline of genome-resolved metagenomics to decipher metabolic and taxonomic profiles of petroleum reservoirs worldwide. Analysis of 301.2 Gb of metagenomic information derived from heavily flooded petroleum reservoirs in China and Alaska to non-flooded petroleum reservoirs in Brazil enabled us to reconstruct 148 metagenome-assembled genomes (MAGs) of high and medium quality. At the phylum level, 74% of MAGs belonged to bacteria and 26% to archaea. The profiles of these MAGs were related to the physicochemical parameters and recovery management applied. The analysis of the potential functional core in the reservoirs showed that the microbiota was specialized for each site, with 31.7% of the total KEGG orthologies annotated as functions (1690 genes) common to all oil fields, while 18% of the functions were site-specific, i.e., present only in one of the oil fields. The oil reservoirs with a lower level of intervention were the most similar to the potential functional core, while the oil fields with a long history of water injection had greater variation in functional profile. These results show how key microorganisms and their functions respond to the distinct physicochemical parameters and interventions of the oil field operations such as water injection and expand the knowledge of biogeochemical transformations in these ecosystems.
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Tyne RL, Barry PH, Lawson M, Byrne DJ, Warr O, Xie H, Hillegonds DJ, Formolo M, Summers ZM, Skinner B, Eiler JM, Ballentine CJ. Rapid microbial methanogenesis during CO 2 storage in hydrocarbon reservoirs. Nature 2021; 600:670-674. [PMID: 34937895 PMCID: PMC8695373 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-021-04153-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/06/2021] [Accepted: 10/14/2021] [Indexed: 01/04/2023]
Abstract
Carbon capture and storage (CCS) is a key technology to mitigate the environmental impact of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. An understanding of the potential trapping and storage mechanisms is required to provide confidence in safe and secure CO2 geological sequestration1,2. Depleted hydrocarbon reservoirs have substantial CO2 storage potential1,3, and numerous hydrocarbon reservoirs have undergone CO2 injection as a means of enhanced oil recovery (CO2-EOR), providing an opportunity to evaluate the (bio)geochemical behaviour of injected carbon. Here we present noble gas, stable isotope, clumped isotope and gene-sequencing analyses from a CO2-EOR project in the Olla Field (Louisiana, USA). We show that microbial methanogenesis converted as much as 13-19% of the injected CO2 to methane (CH4) and up to an additional 74% of CO2 was dissolved in the groundwater. We calculate an in situ microbial methanogenesis rate from within a natural system of 73-109 millimoles of CH4 per cubic metre (standard temperature and pressure) per year for the Olla Field. Similar geochemical trends in both injected and natural CO2 fields suggest that microbial methanogenesis may be an important subsurface sink of CO2 globally. For CO2 sequestration sites within the environmental window for microbial methanogenesis, conversion to CH4 should be considered in site selection.
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Affiliation(s)
- R. L. Tyne
- grid.4991.50000 0004 1936 8948Department of Earth Sciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - P. H. Barry
- grid.4991.50000 0004 1936 8948Department of Earth Sciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK ,grid.56466.370000 0004 0504 7510Department of Marine Chemistry and Geochemistry, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, MA USA
| | - M. Lawson
- grid.421234.20000 0004 1112 1641ExxonMobil Upstream Business Development, Spring, TX USA ,grid.497051.e0000 0004 5997 8548Present Address: Aker BP, Stavanger, Norway
| | - D. J. Byrne
- grid.29172.3f0000 0001 2194 6418CRPG-CNRS, Université de Lorraine, Nancy, France
| | - O. Warr
- grid.17063.330000 0001 2157 2938Department of Earth Sciences, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario Canada
| | - H. Xie
- grid.20861.3d0000000107068890Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA USA
| | - D. J. Hillegonds
- grid.4991.50000 0004 1936 8948Department of Earth Sciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - M. Formolo
- grid.421234.20000 0004 1112 1641ExxonMobil Upstream Integrated Solutions, Spring, TX USA
| | - Z. M. Summers
- ExxonMobil Research and Engineering Co., Virginia, NJ USA
| | - B. Skinner
- grid.421234.20000 0004 1112 1641ExxonMobil Upstream Integrated Solutions, Spring, TX USA
| | - J. M. Eiler
- grid.20861.3d0000000107068890Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA USA
| | - C. J. Ballentine
- grid.4991.50000 0004 1936 8948Department of Earth Sciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
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Stott M, Lueders T. Editorial: Deep life, kia ora! FEMS Microbiol Ecol 2018; 94:5101342. [DOI: 10.1093/femsec/fiy176] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/21/2018] [Accepted: 09/03/2018] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Matthew Stott
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Canterbury, Christchurch, 8140, New Zealand
| | - Tillmann Lueders
- Institute of Groundwater Ecology, Helmholtz Zentrum München, 85764 Neuherberg, Germany
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