(ORDO NEWS) — Researchers have discovered microorganisms that are responsible for the formation of coal and the production of methane. The discovery will help to efficiently extract methane from coal deposits.
Scientists conducted a study and found that the early stages of the formation of coal are associated with the impact of microorganisms that emit methane.
Coal has been known to mankind for a long time, and this mineral is still used to produce energy, despite the fact that they are trying to reduce its production.
But along with coal, other substances can occur in the rock mass, which can also be used in energy and industry. However, despite the fact that coal has been familiar to us since time immemorial, we still know very little about the initial stages of its synthesis.
The researchers in the new work studied the methoxyl groups in coal samples from around the world and used stable isotopes to show that organic material eventually turns to stone under the action of microorganisms.
Methoxyl groups in coal are converted to methane, but researchers believe that the process of forming methane from coal is poorly understood. To better understand this process, the scientists used stable isotopes of carbon in the remaining methoxy groups.
The methoxy group consists of a carbon atom with three hydrogen atoms attached to an oxygen. The oxygen atom can attach itself to any location in a larger organic molecule.
In our case, it attaches to a carbon atom in one of the ring compounds found in carbon. The authors have studied methoxyl groups in a variety of substances, from wood to bituminous coal.
Scientists have found that the isotope profile does not match the generally accepted mechanism for the formation of methane from coal by heat, acidity, or catalytic reactions.
However, this profile corresponded to the scenario of microorganism exposure to organic material. According to the researchers, the depletion of methoxyl groups in coal over time indicates that coal itself has a limited resource in methane production.
So adding more microbes or nutrients won’t increase methane production that would require a different approach.
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