The Functional Potential of Microbial Communities in Hydraulic Fracturing Source Water and Produced Water from Natural Gas Extraction Characterized by Metagenomic Sequencing

Mohan, Arvind Murali; Bibby, Kyle; Lipus, Daniel; Hammack, Richard; Gregory, Kelvin B.

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0107682

Cited by 57 publications

(37 citation statements)

References 42 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Indeed, specific additives are designed to chemically transform and "break" polymers in the fracturing fluid to reduce surface tension before flowback begins (Stringfellow et al, 2014). Despite the use of biocides, high bacterial cell counts have been identified both in the injected fluids and in flowback and produced waters (Cluff et al, 2014;Mohan et al, 2014;Murali Mohan et al, 2013a). Hence, a combination of physical, chemical and biologically mediated reactions ultimately drive the transformation of organic compounds in these fluids (Elsner and Hoelzer, 2016;Hoelzer et al, 2016).…”

Section: Transformation Products Of Organic Constituentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Organic compounds in hydraulic fracturing fluids and wastewaters: A review

2017

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

High volume hydraulic fracturing (HVHF) of shale to stimulate the release of natural gas produces a large quantity of wastewater in the form of flowback fluids and produced water. These wastewaters are highly variable in their composition and contain a mixture of fracturing fluid additives, geogenic inorganic and organic substances, and transformation products. The qualitative and quantitative analyses of organic compounds identified in HVHF fluids, flowback fluids, and produced waters are reviewed here to communicate knowledge gaps that exist in the composition of HVHF wastewaters. In general, analyses of organic compounds have focused on those amenable to gas chromatography, focusing on volatile and semi-volatile oil and gas compounds. Studies of more polar and non-volatile organic compounds have been limited by a lack of knowledge of what compounds may be present as well as quantitative methods and standards available for analyzing these complex mixtures. Liquid chromatography paired with high-resolution mass spectrometry has been used to investigate a number of additives and will be a key tool to further research on transformation products that are increasingly solubilized through physical, chemical, and biological processes in situ and during environmental contamination events. Diverse treatments have been tested and applied to HVHF wastewaters but limited information has been published on the quantitative removal of individual organic compounds. This review focuses on recently published information on organic compounds identified in flowback fluids and produced waters from HVHF.

show abstract

Section: Transformation Products Of Organic Constituentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Organic compounds in hydraulic fracturing fluids and wastewaters: A review

2017

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Notably, bacteria of the genus Halanaerobium (order Halanaerobiales) have been shown to be predominant members of the produced water microbial community (6,10,(13)(14)(15), representing a potential operational concern due to its fermentative (16)(17)(18)(19), thiosulfate-reducing (15,(19)(20)(21)(22) nature. Previous taxonomic characterization of microbial communities in produced water from the Marcellus Shale was performed on the basis of a sum total of six wells, with a maximum of three per study, all less than 18 months following fracture (6,7,10,13,14,23,81). Akob et al evaluated 13 Pennsylvania shale gas wells (12 Marcellus Shale wells and 1 Burket Shale well) for the presence of anaerobic fermenters, methanogens, and H 2 S-producing bacteria using culture-based enrichment tests, but they reported 16S rRNA gene taxonomy data only for the Burket sample (7).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Predominance and Metabolic Potential of Halanaerobium spp. in Produced Water from Hydraulically Fractured Marcellus Shale Wells

Lipus

Vikram

Ross

et al. 2017

Appl Environ Microbiol

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Microbial activity in the produced water from hydraulically fractured oil and gas wells may potentially interfere with hydrocarbon production and cause damage to the well and surface infrastructure via corrosion, sulfide release, and fouling. In this study, we surveyed the microbial abundance and community structure of produced water sampled from 42 Marcellus Shale wells in southwestern Pennsylvania (well age ranged from 150 to 1,846 days) to better understand the microbial diversity of produced water. We sequenced the V4 region of the 16S rRNA gene to assess taxonomy and utilized quantitative PCR (qPCR) to evaluate the microbial abundance across all 42 produced water samples. Bacteria of the order were found to be the most abundant organisms in the majority of the produced water samples, emphasizing their previously suggested role in hydraulic fracturing-related microbial activity. Statistical analyses identified correlations between well age and biocide formulation and the microbial community, in particular, the relative abundance of We further investigated the role of members of the order in produced water by reconstructing and annotating a draft genome (named MDAL1), using shotgun metagenomic sequencing and metagenomic binning. The recovered draft genome was found to be closely related to the species , an oil field isolate, and sp. strain T82-1, also recovered from hydraulic fracturing produced water. Reconstruction of metabolic pathways revealed sp. strain MDAL1 to have the potential for acid production, thiosulfate reduction, and biofilm formation, suggesting it to have the ability to contribute to corrosion, souring, and biofouling events in the hydraulic fracturing infrastructure. There are an estimated 15,000 unconventional gas wells in the Marcellus Shale region, each generating up to 8,000 liters of hypersaline produced water per day throughout its lifetime (K. Gregory, R. Vidic, and D. Dzombak, Elements 7:181-186, 2011, https://doi.org/10.2113/gselements.7.3.181; J. Arthur, B. Bohm, and M. Layne, Gulf Coast Assoc Geol Soc Trans 59:49-59, 2009; https://www.marcellusgas.org/index.php). Microbial activity in produced waters could lead to issues with corrosion, fouling, and souring, potentially interfering with hydraulic fracturing operations. Previous studies have found microorganisms contributing to corrosion, fouling, and souring to be abundant across produced water samples from hydraulically fractured wells; however, these findings were based on a limited number of samples and well sites. In this study, we investigated the microbial community structure in produced water samples from 42 unconventional Marcellus Shale wells, confirming the dominance of the genus in produced water and its metabolic potential for acid and sulfide production and biofilm formation.

show abstract

“…One methanogenic species, Methanococcus maripaludis, comprised 31% of sequences and can significantly increase corrosion rates by extracting electrons directly from steel (Usher et al, 2014). Furthermore, Mohan, Bibby, Lipus, Hammack, and Gregory (2014) analysed hydraulic fracturing source water and wastewater produced during fracking using metagenomic and metabolomic techniques. While not related to corrosion, the metabolic profile revealed a relative increase in genes responsible for carbohydrate metabolism, respiration, sporulation and dormancy, iron acquisition and metabolism, stress response, and sulphur metabolism in the produced water samples from a diverse microbial population (Mohan et al, 2014).…”

Section: Mic Biofilm Genome and Gene Expressionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Furthermore, Mohan, Bibby, Lipus, Hammack, and Gregory (2014) analysed hydraulic fracturing source water and wastewater produced during fracking using metagenomic and metabolomic techniques. While not related to corrosion, the metabolic profile revealed a relative increase in genes responsible for carbohydrate metabolism, respiration, sporulation and dormancy, iron acquisition and metabolism, stress response, and sulphur metabolism in the produced water samples from a diverse microbial population (Mohan et al, 2014). These results suggest that microbial communities in potable water have an increased genetic ability to handle stress, which has significant implications for infrastructure management, such as biofilm control and combating MIC.…”

Section: Mic Biofilm Genome and Gene Expressionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Omics-based approaches and their use in the assessment of microbial-influenced corrosion of metals

Beale

Karpe²,

Jadhav

et al. 2016

Corrosion Reviews

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Microbial-influenced corrosion (MIC) has been known to have economic, environmental, and social implications to offshore oil and gas pipelines, concrete structures, and piped water assets. While corrosion itself is a relatively simple process, the localised manner of corrosion makes in situ assessments difficult. Furthermore, corrosion assessments tend to be measured as part of a forensic investigation. Compounding the issue further is the impact of microbiological/biofilm processes, where corrosion is influenced by the complex processes of different microorganisms performing different electrochemical reactions and secreting proteins and metabolites that can have secondary effects. While traditional microbiological culture-dependent techniques and electrochemical/physical assessments provide some insight into corrosion activity, the identity and role of microbial communities that are related to corrosion and corrosion inhibition in different materials and in different environments are scarce. One avenue to explore MIC and MIC inhibition is through the application of omics-based techniques, where insight into the bacterial population in terms of diversification and their metabolism can be further understood. As such, this paper discusses the recent progresses made in a number of fields that have used omics-based applications to improve the fundamental understanding of biofilms and MIC processes.

show abstract

The Functional Potential of Microbial Communities in Hydraulic Fracturing Source Water and Produced Water from Natural Gas Extraction Characterized by Metagenomic Sequencing

Cited by 57 publications

References 42 publications

Organic compounds in hydraulic fracturing fluids and wastewaters: A review

Organic compounds in hydraulic fracturing fluids and wastewaters: A review

Predominance and Metabolic Potential of Halanaerobium spp. in Produced Water from Hydraulically Fractured Marcellus Shale Wells

Omics-based approaches and their use in the assessment of microbial-influenced corrosion of metals

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About