In situ field experiment shows the potential of methanogenic archaea for biomethane production from underground gas storage in natural rock environment

Vítězová, Monika; Onderka, Vladimír; Urbanová, Iva; Molíková, Anna; Hanišáková, Nikola; Buriánková, Iva; Vítěz, Tomáš; Novak, David P.; Lochman, Jan; Machálková, Markéta; Javůrek, Jakub

doi:10.1016/j.eti.2023.103253

Cited by 7 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 32 publications

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“…There is potential risk in the change of the proportion of methanogens after addition of hydrogen to the environment, and dominance of methanogenic species, that are usually represented in the microbiome in small amounts. Cultivation showed that their presence is also important for further studies and hydrogen storage, as methanogens can become predominant in the microbiome after hydrogen and CO 2 stimulation (Vítězová et al, 2023). Compared to our prior investigations into the underground gas storage (UGS) environment (Buriánková et al, 2022;Vítězová et al, 2023), the UGS community in this specific location differed significantly from previously sequenced UGS wells in the Vienna Basin in the Czech Republic.…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 56%

“…Cultivation showed that their presence is also important for further studies and hydrogen storage, as methanogens can become predominant in the microbiome after hydrogen and CO 2 stimulation (Vítězová et al, 2023). Compared to our prior investigations into the underground gas storage (UGS) environment (Buriánková et al, 2022;Vítězová et al, 2023), the UGS community in this specific location differed significantly from previously sequenced UGS wells in the Vienna Basin in the Czech Republic. The distinct separation between wells and the variations in long-term operation protocols among them yielded unexpectedly diverse microbiomes.…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 56%

“…This technology relies on delivering green hydrogen and carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) to methanogens present in UGS in the correct ratio. This can lead to successful implementation of methanogenesis in situ, as it was demonstrated by Vítězová et al (2023), and production of green CH 4 .…”

mentioning

confidence: 87%

“…Moreover, if living methanogens are present in limited numbers in the initial sample, they can potentially proliferate when provided with the appropriate substrate. For hydrogenotrophic methanogens, this substrate is hydrogen, as suggested by Vítězová et al (2023). That phenomenon has important implications for applications such as hydrogen storage and methanation, and highlights the need for the use of cultivation methods.…”

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confidence: 96%

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Microbiological insight into various underground gas storages in Vienna Basin focusing on methanogenic Archaea

Hanišáková,

Vítězová,

Vítěz

et al. 2023

Front. Microbiol.

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In recent years, there has been a growing interest in extending the potential of underground gas storage (UGS) facilities to hydrogen and carbon dioxide storage. However, this transition to hydrogen storage raises concerns regarding potential microbial reactions, which could convert hydrogen into methane. It is crucial to gain a comprehensive understanding of the microbial communities within any UGS facilities designated for hydrogen storage. In this study, underground water samples and water samples from surface technologies from 7 different UGS objects located in the Vienna Basin were studied using both molecular biology methods and cultivation methods. Results from 16S rRNA sequencing revealed that the proportion of archaea in the groundwater samples ranged from 20 to 58%, with methanogens being the predominant. Some water samples collected from surface technologies contained up to 87% of methanogens. Various species of methanogens were isolated from individual wells, including Methanobacterium sp., Methanocalculus sp., Methanolobus sp. or Methanosarcina sp. We also examined water samples for the presence of sulfate-reducing bacteria known to be involved in microbially induced corrosion and identified species of the genus Desulfovibrio in the samples. In the second part of our study, we contextualized our data by comparing it to available sequencing data from terrestrial subsurface environments worldwide. This allowed us to discern patterns and correlations between different types of underground samples based on environmental conditions. Our findings reveal presence of methanogens in all analyzed groups of underground samples, which suggests the possibility of unintended microbial hydrogen-to-methane conversion and the associated financial losses. Nevertheless, the prevalence of methanogens in our results also highlights the potential of the UGS environment, which can be effectively leveraged as a bioreactor for the conversion of hydrogen into methane, particularly in the context of Power-to-Methane technology.

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Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 56%