Enrichment of a methanogenic consortium for Underground Biomethanation purposes

Underground Biomethanation Reactor (UMR) technology consists of injecting H2 and CO2 into depleted underground gas storage via injection wells. By the metabolic activity of indigenous methanogenic archaea, the injected gas mixture is converted into CH4 and H2O, which are then extracted and processed. This study aims at the enrichement of a methanogenic consortium derived from a depleted underground gas reservoir, in order to evaluate its potential for underground biomethanation conversion. The enrichment of the microbial population was integrated using metagenomics based on Illumina-NGS of bacterial and archaeal 16S rRNA genes.