Theses and Dissertations at Montana State University (MSU)
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Item Investigation of field relevant parameters for microbially enhanced coalbed methane scale up(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Engineering, 2019) Platt, George Addison; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Robin Gerlach; K. J. Davis, E. P. Barnhart, M. W. Fields and R. Gerlach were co-authors of the article, 'Optimization of 13C-algae amendment concentration for enhanced coal dependent methanogenesis' submitted to the journal 'International journal of coal geology' which is contained within this thesis.; K. J. Davis, H. D. Schweitzer, H. J. Smith, E. P. Barnhart, M. W. Fields, R. Gerlach were co-authors of the article, 'Algal amendment enhances biogenic methane production from coals of different thermal maturity' submitted to the journal 'International journal of coal geology' which is contained within this thesis.Energy production from coal is projected to decline significantly over the next 30 years, due to concerns over anthropogenic carbon emissions, climate change, and cost. As coal-based energy production decreases, the demand for natural gas is expected to increase. Coalbed methane (CBM), a biogenic natural gas resource found in subsurface coal beds, may aid in meeting the projected increase in demand. However, costs associated with traditional CBM extraction currently make utilizing this resource economically prohibitive due to slow coal-to-methane conversion rates and the necessity to treat co-produced water. Algae can be cultivated in co-produced formation water and the addition of very small amounts of this algal biomass can increase coal-to-methane conversion rates. The goal of this work was to determine the optimal algae amendment concentration for the enhancement of microbial coal-to-methane conversion to maximize return on investment. Concentrations of 13C-labeled algae amendment ranging from 0.01-0.50 g/L (equivalent to 0.0001-0.005 g per g of coal) were tested in coal-containing batch microcosms. Enhanced methane production was observed in all amended microcosms and maximum methane production occurred between 169-203 days earlier than in unamended microcosms. When as little as 0.01 g/L algae amendment was added, 13CH 4 and 12CH 4 tracking revealed that the improvement in coal-to-methane conversion kinetics was due to enhanced coal degradation. Increasing amendment concentrations to 0.05-0.50 g/L improved coal-to-methane conversion rates further, but improvements from amendment concentrations above 0.05 g/L were insignificant. The geologic scope of this CBM enhancement strategy was investigated by studying methane production from five coals ranging in thermal maturity. Biogenic methane was produced from all coals, with subbituminous coals generally producing more methane than thermally mature bituminous coals. The addition of algae amendment to thermally mature coal microcosms resulted in methane production that was comparable to production from unamended, thermally immature coals. This improvement was associated with an increased relative abundance of coal degrading microorganisms. Collectively, this work demonstrates that algae amendment concentrations can be reduced further (to 0.01-0.05 g/L) relative to the previously investigated concentrations (ranging from 0.1-0.5 g/L) and still improve coal-to-methane conversion rates for a range of coal sources.Item Bacterial and archaeal community diversity in relation to organic carbon consumption and sulfate gradients in the Powder River Basin(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Letters & Science, 2019) Schweitzer, Hannah Doris; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Matthew Fields and Sara Branco (co-chair); Elliott Barnhart, Al Cunningham and Matthew Fields were co-authors of the article, 'Comparison of attached and planktonic microbial assemblages across geochemically distinct coal seam habitats' submitted to the journal 'International journal of coal geology' which is contained within this dissertation.; Daniel Ritter, Jennifer McIntosh, Elliott Barnhart, Al B. Cunningham, David Vinson, William Orem and Matthew Fields were co-authors of the article, 'Changes in microbial communities and associated water and geochemistry across a sulfate gradient in coal beds: Powder River Basin, USA' submitted to the journal 'Geochimica et cosmochimica acta' which is contained within this dissertation.; Heidi J. Smith was an author and Elliott P. Barnhart, William Orem, Robin Gerlach and Matthew W. Fields were co-authors of the article, 'Linking organic matter degradation and microbial assemblage composition to subsurface methane production in the Powder River Basin' submitted to the journal 'Applied and environmental microbiology' which is contained within this dissertation.; Heidi J. Smith, Elliott P. Barnhart, Boris Wawrik, Amy Callaghan, Luke McKay, Robin Gerlach and Matthew W. Fields were co-authors of the article, 'Metagenomic analysis of recalcitrant rich coal seams from coal seams with varying sulfate concentrations' submitted to the journal 'Applied and environmental microbiology' which is contained within this dissertation.The rate limiting step in biogenic coal bed methane production has been attributed to the predominantly recalcitrant composition of coal, making it difficult for bacteria to anaerobically break down into methanogenic substrates. The significance of different carbon (C) cycling pathways involved in the turnover of recalcitrant, terrestrial C under various redox conditions is still a topic of debate, and in fact, unknown C cycling metabolic pathways are still being discovered in sub-oxic and anoxic environments. Redox transitions exist along gradients of increasingly recalcitrant C in many environments, and subsurface environments represent a large reservoir of C. The Powder River Basin in southeastern Montana is a model environment for studying in situ redox gradients for terrestrial subsurface C and were selected to investigate i) the temporal and spatial variation in the microbial assemblage from four different coal seams with varying depth profiles, ii) the physicochemical controls that impact the turnover of recalcitrant coal to methane, and iii) the functional potential for hydrocarbon degradation under different sulfate concentrations. Similar to the methane-sulfate critical zone in marine habitats, the presented work highlights the crucial role sulfate has on microbial assemblages, methane production, and C consumption in shallow coal seams. Given the accepted differences between groundwater and surface-associated communities of subsurface porous media, diffusive microbial samplers packed with native coal material were used to enhance the establishment of microbial communities that better re-capitulated in situ communities. The microbial community inhabiting low sulfate coal seams consisted of sequences indicative of syntrophic bacteria such as Syntrophomonas and Hydrogenophaga which have previously demonstrated degradation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) and coupled growth with hydrogenotrophic methanogens. The assemblages inhabiting high sulfate coal seams were comprised of methylotrophic methanogens and sulfate reducing bacteria. Methylotrophic methanogens are observed in methane producing coal seams that have intermediate levels of sulfate, suggesting an important transition role in early stage methanogenesis. Low sulfate microcosms experienced an increase in humic-like material and consumed more C compared to high sulfate conditions that demonstrated changes in more labile C, including amino acid-like molecules. Moreover, we used a highly curated anaerobic and aerobic hydrocarbon degradation (AnHyDeg and AromaDeg) and redox (nitrogen, sulfur, methane cycle) gene database and pipeline to analyze metagenomic samples that were obtained from three different coal beds that had increasing sulfate levels. While the functional potential for methanogenesis (mcrA) was detected in all metagenomes, the diversity and relative quantity of these genes was greater in the coal beds that contained methane. Of interest was a significantly greater percentage of aerobic hydrocarbon degradation genes (dioxygenases) from one of the methane-containing coal bed samples. These metabolic markers were identified in co-assembled metagenomes. These results provide an enhanced understanding of recalcitrant carbon turnover in the terrestrial subsurface under different redox conditions and the presumptive metabolic capacities involved in subsurface C turnover in relationship to biogenic CH4.Item Development of GIS/GPS methodology of minesite soil salvaging(Montana State University - Bozeman, 1994) Lindberg, Steven Dennis; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: D. J. DollhopfItem Rehabilitation of pronghorn habitat on surface mines of the northern Great Plains(Montana State University - Bozeman, 1983) Zimmerman, George MichaelItem Making the west malleable : coal, geohistory, and western expansion, 1800-1920(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Letters & Science, 2015) Zizzamia, Daniel Francis; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Michael ReidyHistorians have long understood the West as a region shaped by aridity. Yet by analyzing scientific imaginations as they interacted with the materiality of western landscapes, this dissertation argues that the history of the American West was equally influenced by the discovery of the watery deep past of its paleo-landscapes. The physical geography and remnant resources generated through geologic time in the American West decisively influenced western settlement and the advancement of American science in the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries. Through government reports, scientists breathed new life into the ancient denizens and environments of the West. Where others saw an eternal and timeless desert, many scientists saw a plastic and ever-evolving environment. Boosters absorbed the authority of their science to lend credence to visions of a plastic West that would once again become a verdant paradise. Imagined vibrant paleo-environments portrayed once-and-future fertile landscapes that overrode the dominant perception of the American West as arid and hostile to life. With the power granted by coal paired with new technologies, and the Eden-like scientific visions of a former fertile West, vast human-induced climatological changes became an empowering possibility to a nation driven to settle the West. A "paleo-restorative dream" emerged in which the West--by the agency of humans--would return to ancient Edenic landscapes. Indeed, the geoengineering that pervades contemporary discussions concerning climate change and drives hopes to terraform Mars had their origins in the nineteenth century drive to recreate the American frontier.Item Market development survey for continuous coal charring process(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Engineering, 1957) Lengemann, Robert A.Item The potential for dryland alfalfa on minesoils in southeastern Montana(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Agriculture, 1985) Postle, Robert CairnsItem Destructive distillation of Brophy coal by low-temperature carbonization(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Engineering, 1957) Utsumi, TakeshiItem Charring of coals from Montana and neighboring states(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Engineering, 1958) Skerritt, Darold E.Item Evaluation of selected phosphate sources for the control of acid production from pyritic coal overburden(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Agriculture, 1990) Spotts, Edward