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Comprehensive study on genetic pathways and parent materials of secondary biogenic gas in coalbeds

  • Article
  • Geology
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Chinese Science Bulletin

Abstract

The types of substances in coal rock used by microbes, the specific ways in which microbes produce secondary biogenic gas (SBG) and whether substances exist in the coal seam for the formation of a large amount of SBG are important basic scientific issues. This paper conducts a systematic and comprehensive research study on the above issues using methods such as the isotopic tracing of gas, the analysis of coal organic geochemistry, and gas-producing simulation experiments of coal. Results show that the formation of SBG is by the microbial reduction of CO2 and the SBG-producing coal seam undergoes microbial degradation. The thermogenic heavy gaseous hydrocarbons have also been degraded by microorganisms and possibly transformed into microbial-originated CO2. A large amount of CO2, a relatively large amount of H2 and a certain amount of heavy gaseous hydrocarbons may form in the thermal evolution of coal. These substances and the microbial-originated CO2 and coal seam water can finally become parent materials of SBG. These components are rich in coal seams of medium–low thermal evolution, which should be the main coal seams for SBG formation and exploration.

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Acknowledgments

Sample collection was supported by relevant coal departments and Professor Tang Xiuyi. Dr. Zhang Xiaojun took part in some sampling. The authors greatly appreciate their help and support. This study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (41172107), the National Basic Research Program of China (2002CB211701) and the Program of State Key Laboratory of Earth Surface Processes and Resource Ecology (2011-zy-04).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Earth Surface Processes and Resource Ecology/College of Resources Science and Technology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China

    Mingxin Tao, Yuzhen Ma & Jing Li

  2. Lanzhou Petroleum Resources Research Center, Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou, 730000, China

    Wanchun Wang, Zhongping Li & Xiaobin Li

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  1. Mingxin Tao
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  2. Wanchun Wang
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  3. Zhongping Li
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  4. Yuzhen Ma
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  5. Jing Li
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  6. Xiaobin Li
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Correspondence to Mingxin Tao.

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Tao, M., Wang, W., Li, Z. et al. Comprehensive study on genetic pathways and parent materials of secondary biogenic gas in coalbeds. Chin. Sci. Bull. 59, 992–1001 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11434-014-0151-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11434-014-0151-7

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