Methanogenic bacteria as a key factor involved in changes of town gas stored in an underground reservoir

Abstract

The microbial population present in stratal water withdrawn from an underground town gas reservoir transformed H2 and CO2, which are the obligatory constituents of town gas, to methane. By a common procedure one type of mesophilic Gram-positive methanogenic bacteria was enriched. The bacteria grew and produced methane with H2+ CO2 only. This finding suggests that methanogenic bacteria present in the underground town gas reservoir could be responsible for the consumption of hydrogen and carbon dioxide from the stored town gas, causing a diminution of the gas volume and an enrichment of the gas with methane. An isotropic analysis of the stored town gas, in which °13C for methane around −80% was found, supports this suggestion.