Abstract
For the first time in China, a preliminary survey of geochemical characteristics and microbial populations of Neogene brown coal from Zhaotong Basin in Yunnan province, China was conducted to provide a basis for an understanding of the generation of biogenic coal-bed methane in this basin. Coals in this region consist of soft brown coal with lower maturity and good bioactivity, as determined by coal petrologic measurements. Soluble organic matter in coal exhibits the characteristics of unsaturated humic hydrocarbon source rock. Organics in coal were generally associated with higher plants and lower grade aquatic organisms. The bacterial community was dominated by fermentation bacteria, and sulfate-reducing bacteria were relatively rare.
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Acknowledgments
This work is supported by National Natural Science Key Foundation (Grant No. 40730422), the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (Grant No. 2010QNA51), and the Priority Academic Program Development of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions (PAPD).
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Wang, A., Qin, Y. & Lan, F. Geochemical characteristics and microbial populations of Neogene brown coal from Zhaotong Basin, China. Environ Earth Sci 68, 1539–1544 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-012-1847-0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-012-1847-0