A coupled, pore-scale model for methanogenic microbial activity in underground hydrogen storage

Underground hydrogen storage (UHS) as a means of energy storage is an efficient way of compensating for seasonal fluctuations in the availability of energy. One important factor which influences this technology is the activity of methanogenic microorganisms capable of utilising hydrogen and carbon dioxide for metabolism and leading to a change in the stored gas composition. A coupled, pore-scale model is presented which aids in the investigation of the mechanisms that govern the conversion of hydrogen to methane, i.e. advective hydrogen flow, its diffusion into microbial biofilms of multiple species, and its consumption within these biofilms. The model assumes that spherical grains are coated by a film of residual water and treats the biofilm development within each film in a quasi one-dimensional manner. A sample simulation using the presented model illustrates the biofilm growth process in these films as well as the competition between three different microbial species: methanogens, acetogens, and acetotrophs.

[1]  F. Buzek,et al.  Carbon isotope study of methane production in a town gas storage reservoir , 1994 .

[2]  M. Quintard,et al.  Textural characterization of media composed of compacted pieces of cardboard and polyethylene using a gas tracer method. , 2009, Waste management.

[3]  Lincoln Paterson,et al.  Physical, chemical and energy aspects of underground hydrogen storage , 1979 .

[4]  Olaf Pfannkuche,et al.  A marine microbial consortium apparently mediating anaerobic oxidation of methane , 2000, Nature.

[5]  Mlikhail Panfilov,et al.  Underground Storage of Hydrogen: In Situ Self-Organisation and Methane Generation , 2010 .

[6]  J J Heijnen,et al.  Mathematical modeling of biofilm structure with a hybrid differential-discrete cellular automaton approach. , 1998, Biotechnology and bioengineering.

[7]  Rainer Helmig,et al.  An upscaled model for biofilm growth in a thin strip , 2010 .

[8]  J. Hayes,et al.  Extraordinary 13C enrichment of diether lipids at the Lost City Hydrothermal Field indicates a carbon-limited ecosystem , 2009 .

[9]  John L. Wilson,et al.  Influence of the Gas-Water Interface on Transport of Microorganisms through Unsaturated Porous Media , 1994, Applied and environmental microbiology.

[10]  J. B. Taylor,et al.  Technical and economic assessment of methods for the storage of large quantities of hydrogen , 1986 .

[11]  C. Wilke,et al.  Diffusion Coefficients in Multicomponent Gas Mixtures , 1950 .

[12]  J. Andrews,et al.  Re-envisioning the role of hydrogen in a sustainable energy economy , 2012 .

[13]  Daniel M. Tartakovsky,et al.  Hybrid models of reactive transport in porous and fractured media , 2011 .

[14]  Tian C. Zhang,et al.  Density, porosity, and pore structure of biofilms , 1994 .

[15]  N. Michau,et al.  Sulphide mineral reactions in clay-rich rock induced by high hydrogen pressure. Application to disturbed or natural settings up to 250 °C and 30 bar , 2013 .

[16]  Philip S. Stewart,et al.  Diffusion in Biofilms , 2003, Journal of bacteriology.

[17]  Samir Kumar Khanal,et al.  Anaerobic Biotechnology for Bioenergy Production: Principles and Applications , 2008 .

[18]  L. Paterson.  The implications of fingering in underground hydrogen storage , 1983 .

[19]  S. Bryant,et al.  Prediction of interfacial areas during imbibition in simple porous media , 2003 .

[20]  Tianyu Zhang,et al.  Review of mathematical models for biofilms , 2010 .

[21]  Derek R. Lovley,et al.  Kinetic Analysis of Competition Between Sulfate Reducers and Methanogens for Hydrogen in Sediments , 1982, Applied and environmental microbiology.

[22]  A. Stams,et al.  Metabolic interactions between methanogenic consortia and anaerobic respiring bacteria. , 2003, Advances in biochemical engineering/biotechnology.

[23]  Michel Quintard,et al.  Comparison of theory and experiment for solute transport in highly heterogeneous porous medium , 2007 .

[24]  Albert J. Valocchi,et al.  Pore‐scale simulation of biomass growth along the transverse mixing zone of a model two‐dimensional porous medium , 2005 .

[25]  Philippe C. Baveye,et al.  Environmental impact and mechanisms of the biological clogging of saturated soils and aquifer materials , 1998 .

[26]  J. Zeikus,et al.  Influence of pH on microbial hydrogen metabolism in diverse sedimentary ecosystems , 1988, Applied and environmental microbiology.

[27]  S. Kotelnikova.  Microbial production and oxidation of methane in deep subsurface , 2002 .

[28]  Rainer Helmig,et al.  Model coupling for multiphase flow in porous media , 2013 .

[29]  M. Quintard,et al.  Comparison of theory and experiment for solute transport in weakly heterogeneous bimodal porous media , 2011 .

[30]  C. Knickerbocker,et al.  Structural characterization of the hydrocarbon degrading bacteria–oil interface: implications for bioremediation , 2001 .

[31]  D. R. Simbeck,et al.  CO2 capture and storage—the essential bridge to the hydrogen economy , 2004 .

[32]  Peter K. Kitanidis,et al.  Pore‐scale modeling of biological clogging due to aggregate expansion: A material mechanics approach , 2001 .

[33]  U. Lindblom,et al.  A conceptual design for compressed hydrogen storage in mined caverns , 1985 .

[34]  D. Lovley,et al.  Deep subsurface microbial processes , 1995 .

[35]  Alkiviades C. Payatakes,et al.  Hierarchical simulator of biofilm growth and dynamics in granular porous materials , 2007 .

[36]  Michel Quintard,et al.  Upscaling of transport processes in porous media with biofilms in non-equilibrium conditions , 2010 .

[37]  E. Delong,et al.  Methane-Consuming Archaea Revealed by Directly Coupled Isotopic and Phylogenetic Analysis , 2001, Science.

[38]  J. Scholten,et al.  Effect of sulfate and nitrate on acetate conversion by anaerobic microorganisms in a freshwater sediment. , 2002, FEMS microbiology ecology.

[39]  P. Šmigán̆,et al.  Methanogenic bacteria as a key factor involved in changes of town gas stored in an underground reservoir , 1990 .

[40]  Brian D. Wood,et al.  Effective reaction at a fluid–solid interface: Applications to biotransformation in porous media , 2007 .

[41]  Isaac Klapper,et al.  Finger Formation in Biofilm Layers , 2002, SIAM J. Appl. Math..

[42]  Zhenhao Duan,et al.  An improved model calculating CO2 solubility in pure water and aqueous NaCl solutions from 273 to 533 K and from 0 to 2000 bar , 2003 .

[43]  Coupled Cellular Models for Biofilm Growth and Hydrodynamic Flow in a Pipe , 2005 .

[44]  Rainer Helmig,et al.  Modelling biofilm growth in the presence of carbon dioxide and water flow in the subsurface , 2010 .

[45]  C. Derksen,et al.  Snow distribution from SSM/I and its relationships to the hydroclimatology of the Mackenzie River Basin, Canada , 2010 .

[46]  J. Wimpenny,et al.  A unifying hypothesis for the structure of microbial biofilms based on cellular automaton models , 1997 .

[47]  A. Stams,et al.  Kinetics of Acetate Oxidation by Two Sulfate Reducers Isolated from Anaerobic Granular Sludge , 1998, Applied and Environmental Microbiology.

[48]  John H. Weare,et al.  The prediction of methane solubility in natural waters to high ionic strength from 0 to 250°C and from 0 to 1600 bar , 1992 .

[49]  J. Bryers.  Biofilms II : process analysis and applications , 2000 .

[50]  I. Klapper,et al.  A Multidimensional Multispecies Continuum Model for Heterogeneous Biofilm Development , 2007, Bulletin of mathematical biology.

[51]  Cristian Picioreanu,et al.  The effect of biofilm permeability on bio‐clogging of porous media , 2012, Biotechnology and bioengineering.

[52]  E. Heinzle,et al.  Modeling of anaerobic formate kinetics in mixed biofilm culture using dynamic membrane mass spectrometric measurement , 1995, Biotechnology and bioengineering.

[53]  John S. Selker,et al.  Considerations for modeling bacterial-induced changes in hydraulic properties of variably saturated porous media , 2002 .

[54]  A. Wilhelm,et al.  Solubility of hidrogen and carbon monoxide in water and some organic solvents , 2004 .

[55]  Michel Quintard,et al.  Biofilms in porous media: Development of macroscopic transport equations via volume averaging with closure for local mass equilibrium conditions , 2009 .

[56]  J W Wimpenny,et al.  Individual-based modelling of biofilms. , 2001, Microbiology.

[57]  A. Nozhevnikova,et al.  Competition between homoacetogenic bacteria and methanogenic archaea for hydrogen at low temperature , 2001 .

[58]  A. Husain.  Mathematical models of the kinetics of anaerobic digestion--a selected review , 1998 .

[59]  Timothy Scheibe,et al.  Processes in microbial transport in the natural subsurface , 2002 .

[60]  Murray R. Gray,et al.  Stabilization of Oil-Water Emulsions by Hydrophobic Bacteria , 2004, Applied and Environmental Microbiology.

[61]  J. Giddings,et al.  NEW METHOD FOR PREDICTION OF BINARY GAS-PHASE DIFFUSION COEFFICIENTS , 1966 .

[62]  E. Delong.  Resolving a methane mystery , 2000, Nature.

[63]  D. Or,et al.  Aqueous films limit bacterial cell motility and colony expansion on partially saturated rough surfaces. , 2010, Environmental microbiology.

[64]  Daniel M. Tartakovsky,et al.  Hybrid numerical methods for multiscale simulations of subsurface biogeochemical processes , 2007 .