Unearthing the role of microbiology in shale gas extraction: a bioreactor approach

据估计，英国页岩层中蕴藏着超过1300万亿立方英尺的天然气，这些页岩层位于地表以下数公里处。这种资源有潜力为国家提供数十年的燃料，并弥合英国对煤炭和石油的依赖之间的能源差距，转向未来可持续的可再生能源。天然气被锁在页岩中的狭窄空间中。为了回收这些天然气用作燃料，这些深层页岩层必须通过一种名为水力压裂的过程进行人工压裂。这一过程涉及在高压下将数百万升的水和化学品泵入水平钻井，导致裂缝打开，天然气可以畅通无阻地通过裂缝流动。尽管英国政府支持开采英国的天然气储备，但公众对水力压裂的环境风险深感担忧，这是由美国广泛传播的水力压裂破坏环境的报道引发的。虽然一份全面的独立报告认为，如果处理得当，开采的风险很低，但为了充分发挥英国经济从这种资源中受益的潜力，必须解决这些担忧。众所周知，在透明压裂过程中添加到注入水中的许多化学物质会刺激微生物，特别是对天然气及其开采产生负面影响的微生物过程。例如，这些过程可能导致输入流体中添加剂的枯竭(每种添加剂都用于提高页岩气开采效率的特定目的)，以及破坏天然气，并导致油井基础设施的腐蚀。总的来说，这些“生物污损”过程会导致成本增加、效率降低，并对环境造成更大的潜在影响。我提出的研究就是为了解决这些问题。我将与英国石油和天然气服务公司Rawwater Engineering Company Limited合作，测试一系列注入液体化学品(单独和混合在一起)是否有可能刺激生物污垢过程。这些实验将使用定制的高压生物反应器进行，这些反应器旨在模拟英国页岩层的条件。在这些实验中，我将应用最先进的技术来监测化学和微生物学的变化，并在这样做的过程中揭示微生物学在页岩气提取效率中的作用。这项研究的结果将揭示注入液化学刺激生物结垢的潜力，以及负责这些过程的微生物类型。通过与Rawwater及其与更广泛的石油和天然气行业的联系，这些结果将使我能够开发可应用于现场作业的诊断工具和控制策略，以最大限度地提高效率，从而减少页岩气开采对环境的影响，从而使英国经济受益。

More than 1300 trillion cubic feet of natural gas is estimated to reside in UK shale formations, kilometers below the surface. This resource has the potential to fuel the nation for decades, and bridge the energy gap between the UK's dependence on coal and oil towards the sustainable renewable energies of the future. Natural gas is locked away in tight spaces within shale. To recover this gas for use as a fuel, these deep shale formations must be artifically fractured by a process called hydraulical fracturing. This process involves pumping millions of litres of water and chemicals into a horizontally-drilled well at high pressure, causing fractures to open through which natural gas can flow unimpeded. Although the government supports the exploitation of the UK's natural gas reserves, there is deep public concern over the environmental risks of hydraulic fracturing, triggered by widely publicised reports of environmental damge from hydraulic fracturing in the US. Whilst a comprehensive independent report deemed the risks of extraction to be low when conducted properly, these concerns must be addressed in order for the full potential of UK economy to benefit from this resource to be met.A number of chemicals that are added to injection water during hydrualic fracturing are known to stimulate microorganisms, and in particular microbial processes that negatively impact on natural gas and its extraction. These processes may lead, for example, to a depletion in additives in the input fluid (each of which serves a particular purpose in making shale gas extraction more efficient), as well as spoiling the natural gas, and causing corrosion of the well infrastructure. Collectively, these 'biofouling' processes lead to increased costs, reduced efficiency and a greater potential environmental impact.The research I propose is designed to tackle these issues. In partnership with a UK oil and gas servicing company, Rawwater Engineering Company Limited, I will test an array of injection fluid chemicals (individually and mixed together) for their potential to stimulate biofouling processes. These experiments will be conducted using bespoke, high pressure bioreactors that are designed to mimic the conditions of UK shale formations. Throughout these experiments I will apply state-of-the-art techniques to monitor changes to the chemistry and microbiology, and in doing so unearth the role of microbiology in the efficiency of shale gas extraction.The results of this research will shed light on the potential for injection fluid chemistry to stimulate biofouling, as well as the types of microorganisms that are responsible for these processes. In partnership with Rawwater and their links to the wider oil and gas industry, these results will allow me to develop diagnostic tools and control strategies that can be applied to field operations in order to maximise the efficiency and hence minise the environmental impact of shale gas extraction, to the benefit of the UK economy.