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

据估计，超过1300万亿立方英尺的天然气存在于英国页岩地层中，位于地表以下数公里处。这种资源有可能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与未来可持续可再生能源之间的能源差距。天然气被锁在页岩内部的狭小空间中。为了回收这些天然气用作燃料，必须通过一种称为水力压裂的方法对这些深层页岩层进行人工压裂。这一过程涉及在高压下将数百万升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流动。尽管政府支持开采英国的天然气储量，但公众对水力压裂的环境风险深感担忧，这是由美国水力压裂造成环境损害的广泛报道引发的。虽然一份全面的独立报告认为，在适当的情况下，开采的风险很低，但必须解决这些问题，以使英国经济的全部潜力从这一资源中受益。已知在水力压裂期间添加到注入水中的许多化学品会刺激微生物，特别是对天然气及其开采产生负面影响的微生物过程。这些过程可能导致例如输入流体中的添加剂的耗尽（每种添加剂都用于使页岩气开采更有效的特定目的），以及破坏天然气，并导致井基础设施的腐蚀。总的来说，这些“生物污染”过程导致成本增加，效率降低和更大的潜在环境影响。我建议的研究旨在解决这些问题。在与英国石油和天然气服务公司Rawwater Engineering Company Limited的合作中，我将测试一系列注入流体化学品（单独和混合在一起），以了解它们刺激生物污垢过程的潜力。这些实验将使用定制的高压生物反应器进行，这些生物反应器旨在模拟英国页岩地层的条件。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的变化，并在此过程中挖掘微生物在页岩气开采效率中的作用。这项研究的结果将揭示注入流体化学刺激生物污垢的潜力，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，从而最大限度地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.