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dc.contributor.authorSchweitzer, Hannah
dc.contributor.authorSmith, Heidi J.
dc.contributor.authorBarnhart, Elliott P.
dc.contributor.authorGerlach, Robin
dc.contributor.authorFields, Matthew W.
dc.date.accessioned2022-03-04T10:18:39Z
dc.date.available2022-03-04T10:18:39Z
dc.date.issued2021-09-29
dc.description.abstractBiogenic methane is estimated to account for one-fifth of the natural gas worldwide and there is great interest in controlling methane from different sources. Biogenic coalbed methane (CBM) production relies on syntrophic associations between fermentative bacteria and methanogenic archaea to anaerobically degrade recalcitrant coal and produce methanogenic substrates. However, very little is known about how differences in geochemistry, hydrology, and microbial community composition influence subsurface carbon utilization and CBM production. The addition of an amendment consisting of microalgal biomass has previously been shown to increase CBM production while providing the possibility of a closed-loop fossil system where waste (production water) is used to grow algae to ultimately produce energy (methane). However, the efficiency of enhancing CBM production under different redox conditions remains unresolved. In this study, we focused on the U.S. Geological Survey's Birney test site (Montana, USA) that has nine wells vertically accessing four coal seams with varying geochemistry (low and high sulfate (SO<sub>4</sub><sup>2−</sup>)) and methane production rates. We used organic matter (OM) in the form of algal biomass to discern the effect of this amendment on OM degradation and microbially enhanced CBM production potential under different geochemical constraints. We tracked changes in community composition, OM composition, organic carbon (OC) concentration, methane production, and nutrients in batch systems over six months. Methane production was detected only in microcosms from low SO<sub>4</sub><sup>2−</sup> wells (168 to 800 μg methane per gram of coal). The OC consumption varied across time for all wells and the variation was greatest for the low SO<sub>4</sub><sup>2−</sup> wells. Different groups of syntrophic bacteria were associated with net‑carbon consuming microcosms, and specifically <i>Syntrophorhabdus</i> was identified with several different statistical methods as a potentially important coal degrader. Results from this study provide insight into potential coal-degraders, the compositional changes in some of the different OM fractions, and trends in carbon consumption related to methane production across coal seams along the vertical SO<sub>4</sub><sup>2−</sup> gradient.en_US
dc.identifier.citationSchweitzer HD, Smith HJ, Barnhart EP, Gerlach R, Fields MW. Effect of an algal amendment on the microbial conversion of coal to methane at different sulfate concentrations from the Powder River Basin, USA. International Journal of Coal Geology. 2021;248en_US
dc.identifier.cristinIDFRIDAID 1980681
dc.identifier.doi10.1016/j.coal.2021.103860
dc.identifier.issn0166-5162
dc.identifier.issn1872-7840
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10037/24259
dc.language.isoengen_US
dc.publisherElsevieren_US
dc.relation.journalInternational Journal of Coal Geology
dc.rights.accessRightsopenAccessen_US
dc.rights.holderCopyright 2021 The Author(s)en_US
dc.titleEffect of an algal amendment on the microbial conversion of coal to methane at different sulfate concentrations from the Powder River Basin, USAen_US
dc.type.versionacceptedVersionen_US
dc.typeJournal articleen_US
dc.typeTidsskriftartikkelen_US
dc.typePeer revieweden_US


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