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Rapid microbial methanogenesis during CO 2 storage in hydrocarbon reservoirs.
- Source :
-
Nature [Nature] 2021 Dec; Vol. 600 (7890), pp. 670-674. Date of Electronic Publication: 2021 Dec 22. - Publication Year :
- 2021
-
Abstract
- Carbon capture and storage (CCS) is a key technology to mitigate the environmental impact of carbon dioxide (CO <subscript>2</subscript> ) emissions. An understanding of the potential trapping and storage mechanisms is required to provide confidence in safe and secure CO <subscript>2</subscript> geological sequestration <superscript>1,2</superscript> . Depleted hydrocarbon reservoirs have substantial CO <subscript>2</subscript> storage potential <superscript>1</superscript> , <superscript>3</superscript> , and numerous hydrocarbon reservoirs have undergone CO <subscript>2</subscript> injection as a means of enhanced oil recovery (CO <subscript>2</subscript> -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 CO <subscript>2</subscript> -EOR project in the Olla Field (Louisiana, USA). We show that microbial methanogenesis converted as much as 13-19% of the injected CO <subscript>2</subscript> to methane (CH <subscript>4</subscript> ) and up to an additional 74% of CO <subscript>2</subscript> was dissolved in the groundwater. We calculate an in situ microbial methanogenesis rate from within a natural system of 73-109 millimoles of CH <subscript>4</subscript> per cubic metre (standard temperature and pressure) per year for the Olla Field. Similar geochemical trends in both injected and natural CO <subscript>2</subscript> fields suggest that microbial methanogenesis may be an important subsurface sink of CO <subscript>2</subscript> globally. For CO <subscript>2</subscript> sequestration sites within the environmental window for microbial methanogenesis, conversion to CH <subscript>4</subscript> should be considered in site selection.<br /> (© 2021. The Author(s).)
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 1476-4687
- Volume :
- 600
- Issue :
- 7890
- Database :
- MEDLINE
- Journal :
- Nature
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 34937895
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-021-04153-3