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Long-term succession in a coal seam microbiome during in situ biostimulation of coalbed-methane generation

Beckmann S 1 , Luk AWS 2 , Gutierrez-Zamora ML 3 , Chong NHH 4 , Thomas T 3 , Lee M 5 Show all authors , Manefield M 6

Affiliations 

  • 1 School of Chemical Engineering, University of New South Wales, High Street, 2052, Sydney, NSW, Australia
  • 2 Charles Perkins Centre, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Sydney, Camperdown, Sydney, NSW, 2006, Australia
  • 3 Centre for Marine Bio-Innovation, School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of New South Wales, High Street, 2052, Sydney, NSW, Australia
  • 4 School of Biosciences and Biotechnology, University Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600, Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia
  • 5 School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of New South Wales, High Street, 2052, Sydney, NSW, Australia
  • 6 School of Chemical Engineering, University of New South Wales, High Street, 2052, Sydney, NSW, Australia. manefield@unsw.edu.au
ISME J, 2019 03;13(3):632-650.
PMID: 30323265 DOI: 10.1038/s41396-018-0296-5

Abstract

Despite the significance of biogenic methane generation in coal beds, there has never been a systematic long-term evaluation of the ecological response to biostimulation for enhanced methanogenesis in situ. Biostimulation tests in a gas-free coal seam were analysed over 1.5 years encompassing methane production, cell abundance, planktonic and surface associated community composition and chemical parameters of the coal formation water. Evidence is presented that sulfate reducing bacteria are energy limited whilst methanogenic archaea are nutrient limited. Methane production was highest in a nutrient amended well after an oxic preincubation phase to enhance coal biofragmentation (calcium peroxide amendment). Compound-specific isotope analyses indicated the predominance of acetoclastic methanogenesis. Acetoclastic methanogenic archaea of the Methanosaeta and Methanosarcina genera increased with methane concentration. Acetate was the main precursor for methanogenesis, however more acetate was consumed than methane produced in an acetate amended well. DNA stable isotope probing showed incorporation of 13C-labelled acetate into methanogenic archaea, Geobacter species and sulfate reducing bacteria. Community characterisation of coal surfaces confirmed that methanogenic archaea make up a substantial proportion of coal associated biofilm communities. Ultimately, methane production from a gas-free subbituminous coal seam was stimulated despite high concentrations of sulfate and sulfate-reducing bacteria in the coal formation water. These findings provide a new conceptual framework for understanding the coal reservoir biosphere.

* Title and MeSH Headings from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.

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