Publication in Environmental Technology & Innovation
Biological methanation occurs naturally in the specific rock environment of some underground gas reservoirs. The experiment followed data previously obtained from long-term experiments carried out in the laboratory, including 300 days lasting operation of reactor and cultivation experiments, which led to repeated isolation of Methanothermobacter sp. This species was the dominant methanogen, which raised from 1% to 43% of all microbial population after 22 days of field experiment, while the complete conversion of hydrogen took place. In addition, the study is supported by metagenomic analysis to gain deep insight into the microbiome of the underground gas reservoir.