Geological, Geochemical, and Microbial Factors Affecting Coalbed Methane

Evans, Curtis; Budwill, Karen; Whiticar, Michael

doi:10.1007/978-3-319-54529-5_21-1

Curtis Evans¹⁴,
Karen Budwill¹⁵ &
Michael Whiticar¹⁴

Part of the book series: Handbook of Hydrocarbon and Lipid Microbiology ((HHLM))

138 Accesses

Abstract

Coalbed methane (CBM) is an unconventional resource for natural gas production. Years of research have clearly demonstrated that, in addition to thermogenically produced CBM, microorganisms indigenous to the coal seams are capable of converting some of the hydrocarbon portion of the coal to methane. CBM production is, therefore, not only dependent on the types of microbes present and their metabolic activities but also on the physicochemical properties of the coal itself, such as depositional environments and history and chemical makeup. Understanding the geological, geochemical, and microbial factors affecting CBM formation can lead to the development of effective processes to enhance methane production rates and yields.

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School of Earth and Ocean Sciences, University of Victoria, Victoria, BC, Canada
Curtis Evans & Michael Whiticar
Processing Technologies, InnoTech Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada
Karen Budwill

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Heinz Wilkes

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Evans, C., Budwill, K., Whiticar, M. (2020). Geological, Geochemical, and Microbial Factors Affecting Coalbed Methane. In: Wilkes, H. (eds) Hydrocarbons, Oils and Lipids: Diversity, Origin, Chemistry and Fate. Handbook of Hydrocarbon and Lipid Microbiology . Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-54529-5_21-1

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-54529-5_21-1
Received: 09 September 2019
Accepted: 26 September 2019
Published: 14 November 2019
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-54529-5
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-54529-5
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