Formation pretreatment with biogenic methane production enhancement systems
AssigneeThe University of Wyoming Research Corporation
InventorsSong Jin, Alan E. Bland
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Abstract
Systems for enhanced in-situ or perhaps even ex-situ biogenic methane production from hydrocarbon-bearing formations (1) including coal seam, oil shale, coal, coal derivates and the like are presented in embodiments such as but not limited to: increasing and perhaps even selection of microbial populations (2), amending CBM water and other microbe-containing media, diminishing sulfate reduction competition, enhancing organic matter concentrations and generation of biogenic methane (10), universally treating hydrocarbon-bearing formations, and introducing amendments (3) to hydrocarbon-bearing formations.
Claims31
A method of producing biogenic methane comprising the steps of:
- providing a hydrocarbon-bearing formation environment having a hydrocarbon-bearing formation and at least one microbial population;
- pretreating said hydrocarbon-bearing formation environment having said hydrocarbon-bearing formation and said at least one microbial population with a basic amendment;
- increasing a pH of said hydrocarbon-bearing formation environment with said basic amendment to provide a basic hydrocarbon-bearing formation environment;
- extracting at least some hydrocarbons from said hydrocarbon-bearing formation in said basic hydrocarbon-bearing formation environment;
- adjusting said pH of said basic hydrocarbon-bearing formation environment;
- microbially consuming said at least some of said hydrocarbons extracted from said hydrocarbon-bearing formation by said at least one microbial population to provide a stimulated microbial population;
- generating methane from said stimulated microbial population;
- and
- collecting said methane.
A biogenic methane production system comprising:
- a hydrocarbon-bearing formation environment having a hydrocarbon-bearing formation and at least one microbial population;
- a basic pretreatment amendment capable of increasing a pH of said hydrocarbon-bearing formation environment to form a basic hydrocarbon-bearing formation environment and capable of extracting at least some hydrocarbons from said hydrocarbon-bearing formation;
- a pH adjuster of said basic hydrocarbon-bearing formation environment;
- biogenically generated methane in said hydrocarbon-bearing formation environment derived from said at least one microbial population;
- and
- a methane collection element.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.