Project Info

Detection and mitigation of microbial activity effects in underground gas (CO2 and H2) storage though fast screening

Parisa Bazazi
pbazazi@mines.edu

Project Goals and Description:

Objective: Develop rapid screening platforms to analysis, prevent, and mitigate microbial activity and enable safe and economical operation of underground gas storage process.

Significance: Microbial activity can affect the efficiency of underground gas storage. Specifically, microbes can consume hydrogen as a source of energy. This results in an overall reduction in the amount of stored hydrogen and may also create acids that can corrode storage materials. To ensure the safety and long-term performance of underground hydrogen storage systems, microbial activity must be considered in their design and operation. For the assessment, the original reservoir fluid and rock samples should be used for the chemical and microbial analysis. Currently, polymerase chain reaction (PCR) techniques are used to analyze reservoir samples and find metabolically functional groups. Alternative approaches are necessary in light of the difficulties in high quality DNA extraction from microbial samples, the presence of PCR inhibitors, and the cost and time of the analysis.

More Information:

Grand Challenge: Not applicable.

Primary Contacts:

Parisa Bazazi pbazazi@mines.edu

Student Preparation

Qualifications

  1. Previous lab work experience
  2. Trouble shooting experiments
  3. Conduct literature review on an assigned topic
  4. Written and oral scientific communication skills.

TIME COMMITMENT (HRS/WK)

3 hrs

SKILLS/TECHNIQUES GAINED

  1. Writing research papers
  2. Conducting bacteria related research
  3. Conducting material characterization experiments

MENTORING PLAN

Students will be trained directly by the PI. We will do collaborations with other labs along the project.

PREFERRED STUDENT STATUS

Junior
Senior
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