Coal mining is responsible for 11% of total anthropogenic methane emission thereby contributing considerably to climate change. Attempts to harvest coalbed methane for energy production are challenged by relatively low methane concentrations. In this study, we investigated whether nutrient and acetate amendment of a non-producing sub-bituminous coal well could transform the system to a methane ...

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Methanogenic and methanotrophic archaea play important roles in the global flux of methane. Culture-independent approaches are providing deeper insight into the diversity and evolution of methane-metabolizing microorganisms, but, until now, no compelling evidence has existed for methane metabolism in archaea outside the phylum Euryarchaeota. We performed metagenomic sequencing of a deep aquifer...

Non-oxidative methane dehydroaromatization is a promising reaction to directly convert natural gas into aromatic hydrocarbons and hydrogen. Commercialization of this technology is hampered by rapid catalyst deactivation because of coking. A novel approach is presented involving selective oxidation of coke during methane dehydroaromatization at 700 °C. Periodic pulsing of oxygen into the methane...

Formaldehyde (HCHO) indicates and supports photochemical activity in the atmosphere. Large amounts are expected to found in industrial areas and during biomass burning. HCHO is a major intermediate in the degradation of methane (and many other hydrocarbons). In the absence of heterogenous losses, essentially every methane molecule is converted to HCHO. Therefore it is found throughout the tropo...

Constipation, a common problem in gastroenterology practice, may result from slow colonic transit. Therapeutic options for slow transit constipations are limited. Excessive methane production by the methanogenic gut flora, which is more often found in patients with constipation, slows colonic transit. Thus, reduction in methane production with antibiotic treatment directed against methanogenic ...

Methane is an important anthropogenic greenhouse gas that is produced and consumed in soils by microorganisms responding to micro-environmental conditions. Current estimates show that soil consumption accounts for 5-15% of methane removed from the atmosphere on an annual basis. Recent variability in atmospheric methane concentrations has called into question the reliability of estimates of meth...

Continental freshwater systems have now been shown to be globally significant sources of methane, but there are still large uncertainties associated with freshwater methane fluxes. Studies to date have mainly focused on either ebullition of bubbles originating from sediments or on diffusive fluxes of dissolved methane across the air–water interface. We examined the potential influence of a new ...

Freshwater plants affect the ecosystem functioning of shallow aquatic ecosystems. However, because native plants are threatened by environmental change such as eutrophication, global warming and biological invasions, continued ecosystem functioning may be at risk. In this study, we explored how the growth of native and non-native plant species in eutrophic, warm conditions impacts two plant eco...