Geological storage of hydrogen in deep aquifers – an experimental multidisciplinary study (original) (raw)
Estimating microbial growth and hydrogen consumption in hydrogen storage in porous media
Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 2021
Subsurface storage of hydrogen, e.g. in depleted oil and gas fields (DOGF), is suggested as means to overcome imbalances between supply and demand in the renewable energy sector. However, hydrogen is an electron donor for subsurface microbial processes, which may have important implications for hydrogen recovery, gas injectivity and corrosion. Here, we review the controls on the three major hydrogen consuming processes in the subsurface, methanogenesis, homoacetogenesis, and sulfate reduction, as a basis to estimate the risk for microbial growth in geological hydrogen storage. Evaluating our data on 42 DOGF showed that five of the fields may be considered sterile with respect to hydrogen-consuming microorganisms due to temperatures >122 °C. Only three DOGF can sustain all of the hydrogen consuming processes, due to either temperature, salinity or pressure constraints in the remaining fields. We calculated a
Hydrogen in Rocks: An Energy Source for Deep Microbial Communities
Astrobiology, 2002
To survive in deep subsurface environments, lithotrophic microbial communities require a sustainable energy source such as hydrogen. Though H 2 can be produced when water reacts with fresh mineral surfaces and oxidizes ferrous iron, this reaction is unreliable since it depends upon the exposure of fresh rock surfaces via the episodic opening of cracks and fissures. A more reliable and potentially more voluminous H 2 source exists in nominally anhydrous minerals of igneous and metamorphic rocks. Our experimental results indicate that H 2 molecules can be derived from small amounts of H 2 O dissolved in minerals in the form of hydroxyl, OH 2 or O 3 Si-OH, whenever such minerals crystallized in an H 2 O-laden environment. Two types of experiments were conducted. Single crystal fracture experiments indicated that hydroxyl pairs undergo an in situ redox conversion to H 2 molecules plus peroxy links, O 3 Si/ OO \SiO 3 . While the peroxy links become part of the mineral structure, the H 2 molecules diffused out of the freshly fractured mineral surfaces. If such a mechanism occurred in natural settings, the entire rock column would become a volume source of H 2 . Crushing experiments to facilitate the outdiffusion of H 2 were conducted with common crustal igneous rocks such as granite, andesite, and labradorite. At least 70 nmol of H 2 /g diffused out of coarsely crushed andesite, equivalent at standard pressure and temperature to 5,000 cm 3 of H 2 /m 3 of rock. In the water-saturated, biologically relevant upper portion of the rock column, the diffusion of H 2 out of the minerals will be buffered by H 2 saturation of the intergranular water film. Key Words: Hydrogen in rocks-Deep microbial communities-Solute water in minerals-Redox conversion of hydroxyl pairs-Peroxy in minerals. Astrobiology 2, 83-92. 83 HYDROGEN IN ROCKS 89 FIG. 3. Crushing experiments with andesite, granite, and labradorite, using an epoxy crushing device. Upon crushing, at time t 5 0, H 2 was released. Since each sample crushed differently the amounts of H 2 released varied from run to run. H 2 partial pressures that increased with time suggest slow H 2 release from the sample. H 2 partial pressures that decreased with time were due to leaky O-ring seals. HYDROGEN IN ROCKS 91
Frontiers in microbiology, 2024
H 2 produced from renewable energies will play a central role in both greenhouse gas reduction and decarbonization by 2050. Nonetheless, to improve H 2 diffusion and utilization as a fuel, large storage capacity systems are needed. Underground storage of natural gas in depleted reservoirs, aquifers and salt caverns is a well-established technology. However, new challenges arise when it comes to storing hydrogen due to the occurrence and activity of indigenous microbial populations in deep geological formations. In a previous study, four Italian natural gas reservoirs were characterized both from a hydro-chemical and microbiological point of view, and predictive functional analyses were carried out with the perspective of underground hydrogen storage (UHS). In the present work, formation waters from the same reservoirs were used as inoculant during batch cultivation tests to characterize microbial activity and its effects on different gas mixtures. Results evidence a predominant acidogenic/ acetogenic activity, whilst methanogenic and sulfate reducing activity were only marginal for all tested inoculants. Furthermore, the microbial activation of tested samples is strongly influenced by nutrient availability. Obtained results were fitted and screened in a computational model which would allow deep insights in the study of microbial activity in the context of UHS.
Subseafloor Biosphere Linked to Hydrothermal Systems, 2014
Hydrogen generated in hydrothermal and fault systems has recently received considerable attention as a potential energy source for hydrogen-based microbial activity such as methanogenesis. Laboratory experiments that have reproduced conditions for the serpentinization of ultramafic rocks such as peridotite and komatiite have clarified the chemical and petrological processes of H 2 production. In a frictional experimental study, we recently showed that abundant H 2 can also be generated in a simulated fault system. This result suggests that microbial ecosystems might exist in subseafloor fault systems. Here we review the experimental constraints on hydrogen production in hydrothermal and fault systems.
Energy Procedia, 2013
The H2STORE collaborative project investigates potential geohydraulic, petrophysical, mineralogical, microbiological and geochemical interactions induced by the injection of hydrogen into depleted gas reservoirs and CO 2-and town gas storage sites. In this context the University of Jena performs mineralogical and geochemical investigations on reservoir and cap rocks to evaluate the relevance of preferential sedimentological features, which will control fluid (hydrogen) pathways, thus provoking fluid-rock interactions and related variations in porosity and permeability. Thereby reservoir sand-and sealing mudstones of different composition, sampled from distinct depths (different: pressure/temperature conditions) of five German locations are analysed. In combination with laboratory experiments the results will enable the characterization of specific mineral reactions at different physico-chemical conditions and geological settings.
Subsurface Microbial Hydrogen Cycling: Natural Occurrence and Implications for Industry
Microorganisms
Hydrogen is a key energy source for subsurface microbial processes, particularly in subsurface environments with limited alternative electron donors, and environments that are not well connected to the surface. In addition to consumption of hydrogen, microbial processes such as fermentation and nitrogen fixation produce hydrogen. Hydrogen is also produced by a number of abiotic processes including radiolysis, serpentinization, graphitization, and cataclasis of silicate minerals. Both biotic and abiotically generated hydrogen may become available for consumption by microorganisms, but biotic production and consumption are usually tightly coupled. Understanding the microbiology of hydrogen cycling is relevant to subsurface engineered environments where hydrogen-cycling microorganisms are implicated in gas consumption and production and corrosion in a number of industries including carbon capture and storage, energy gas storage, and radioactive waste disposal. The same hydrogen-cycling...
Hydrogen storage in saline aquifers: The role of cushion gas for injection and production
International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, 2021
Hydrogen stored on a large scale in porous rocks helps alleviate the main drawbacks of intermittent renewable energy generation and will play a significant role as a fuel substitute to limit global warming. This study discusses the injection, storage and production of hydrogen in an open saline aquifer anticline using industry standard reservoir engineering software, and investigates the role of cushion gas, one of the main cost uncertainties of hydrogen storage in porous media. The results show that one well can inject and reproduce enough hydrogen in a saline aquifer anticline to cover 25% of the annual hydrogen energy required to decarbonise the domestic heating of East Anglia (UK). Cushion gas plays an important role and its injection in saline aquifers is dominated by brine displacement and accompanied by high pressures. The required ratio of cushion gas to working gas depends strongly on geological parameters including reservoir depth, the shape of the trap, and reservoir permeability, which are investigated in this study. Generally, deeper reservoirs with high permeability are favoured. The study shows that the volume of cushion gas directly determines the working gas injection and production performance. It is concluded that a thorough investigation into the cushion gas requirement, taking into account cushion gas costs as well as the cost-benefit of cushion gas in place, should be an integral part of a hydrogen storage development plan in saline aquifers.
Extremophiles, 2004
Subsurface microbial communities supported by geologically and abiologically derived hydrogen and carbon dioxide from the Earth's interior are of great interest, not only with regard to the nature of primitive life on Earth, but as potential analogs for extraterrestrial life. Here, for the first time, we present geochemical and microbiological evidence pointing to the existence of hyperthermophilic subsurface lithoautotrophic microbial ecosystem (HyperSLiME) dominated by hyperthermophilic methanogens beneath an active deep-sea hydrothermal field in the Central Indian Ridge. Geochemical and isotopic analyses of gaseous components in the hydrothermal fluids revealed heterogeneity of both concentration and carbon isotopic compositions of methane between the main hydrothermal vent (0.08 mM and)13.8& PDB, respectively) and the adjacent divergent vent site (0.2 mM and)18.5& PDB, respectively), representing potential subsurface microbial methanogenesis, at least in the divergent vent emitting more 13 C-depleted methane. Extremely high abundance of magmatic energy sources such as hydrogen (2.5 mM) in the fluids also encourages a hydrogen-based, lithoautotrophic microbial activity. Both cultivation and cultivation independent molecular analyses suggested the predominance of Methanococcales members in the superheated hydrothermal emissions and chimney interiors along with the other major microbial components of Thermococcales members. These results imply that a HyperSLiME, consisting of methanogens and fermenters, occurs in this tectonically active subsurface zone, strongly supporting the existence of hydrogen-driven subsurface microbial communities.
International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, 2018
Fluctuating energy production by renewables is one of the main issues in transition times of energy production from conventional power plants to an energy production by renewables. Using excess produced electricity (windy/sunny periods) to convert water to oxygen and hydrogen and storing the hydrogen in depleted oil-, gas fields or sedimentary aquifer structures would provide the option to recover and convert hydrogen to electricity in periods with an energy demand. Research focus is here the pore space in the geological underground where still few studies exist. In static batch experiments up to six weeks long, under different reservoir-specific conditions; regarding pressure, temperature and formation fluid salinity, sandstones were exposed to 100% hydrogen. Before and after these experiments microscopic, petrophysical and computer tomography analyses are conducted. The preliminary results from different scales (mm to cm) and dimensions (2D and 3D) of 21 samples indicate that hydrogen underground storage is likely possible.
Geomicrobiology Journal, 2017
Precambrian Shield rocks host the oldest fracture fluids on Earth, with residence times up to a billion years or more. Water-rock reactions in these fracture systems over geological time have produced highly saline fluids, which can contain mM concentrations of H2. Mixing of these ancient Precambrian fluids with meteoric or palaeometeoric water can occur through tectonic fracturing, providing microbial inocula and redox couples to fuel blooms of subsurface growth. Here, we present geochemical and microbiological data from a series of borehole fluids of varying ionic strength (0.6 M to 6.4 M) from Thompson Mine (Manitoba) within the Canadian Precambrian Shield. Thermodynamic calculations demonstrate sufficient energy for H2-based catabolic reactions across the entire range of ionic strengths during mixing of high ionic strength fracture fluids with meteoric water, although microbial H2 consumption and cultivable H2-utilizing microbes were only detected in fluids of ≤ 1.9 M ionic strength. This pattern of microbial H2 utilization can be explained by the greater potential bioenergetic cost of organic osmolyte synthesis at increasing ionic strengths. We propose that further research into the bioenergetics of osmolyte regulation in halophiles is warranted to better constrain the habitability zones of hydrogenotrophic ecosystems in both the terrestrial subsurface, including potential future radioactive waste disposal sites, and other planetary body crustal environments, including Mars.