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Review
. 2024 Oct 25;100(11):fiae142.
doi: 10.1093/femsec/fiae142.

Artificial subsurface lithoautotrophic microbial ecosystems and gas storage in deep subsurface

Anthony Ranchou-Peyruse  1
Affiliations
Review

Artificial subsurface lithoautotrophic microbial ecosystems and gas storage in deep subsurface

Anthony Ranchou-Peyruse. FEMS Microbiol Ecol. .

Abstract

Over the next few years, it is planned to convert all or part of the underground gas storage (UGS) facilities used for natural gas (salt caverns, depleted hydrocarbon reservoirs, and deep aquifers) into underground dihydrogen (H2) storage reservoirs. These deep environments host microbial communities, some of which are hydrogenotrophic (sulfate reducers, acetogens, and methanogens). The current state of microbiological knowledge is thus presented for the three types of UGS facilities. In the mid-1990s, the concept of anaerobic subsurface lithoautotrophic microbial ecosystems, or SLiMEs, emerged. It is expected that the large-scale injection of H2 into subsurface environments will generate new microbial ecosystems called artificial SLiMEs, which could persist over time. These artificial SLiMEs could lead to H2 loss, an intense methanogenic activity, a degradation of gas quality and a risk to installations through sulfide production. However, recent studies on salt caverns and deep aquifers suggest that hydrogenotrophic microbial activity also leads to alkalinization (up to pH 10), which can constrain hydrogenotrophy. Therefore, studying and understanding these artificial SLiMEs is both a necessity for the development of the H2 industry and presents an opportunity for ecologists to monitor the evolution of deep environments in real time.

Keywords: UGS; UHS; UMR; artificial SLiME; deep microbial ecosystem; hydrogen; methanogenesis.

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Conflict of interest statement

The author declares that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Examples of geological underground gas reservoirs (UGSs) harbouring indigenous or allochthonous microbes. (i) The bottom of salt caverns is bathed in brine in which hyperhalophilic prokaryotes are regularly detected. (ii) Depleted hydrocarbon reservoirs harbour rich microbial communities capable of thriving on ubiquitous organic molecules. (ii) Deep oligotrophic aquifers have been described to host SLiMEs. Illustration by Jagoba Malumbres-Olarte.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Schematic representation of the structuring of hydrogenotrophic communities based on the three functional groups assumed to predominate in deep environments: sulfate-reducing prokaryotes (SRPs), methanogenic archaea (Met), and acetogenic bacteria (Acet) (adapted from Thaysen et al. 2023).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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