Coal methanogenesis: a review of the need of complex microbial consortia and culture conditions for the effective bioconversion of coal into methane

Microbial biodegradation of coal into low-molecular-weight compounds such as methane has been extensively researched in the last two decades because of the underlying environmental and industrial applications of this technique as compared to the chemical and physical methods of coal conversions. How...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inAnnals of microbiology Vol. 67; no. 3; pp. 275 - 286
Main Authors Iram, Attia, Akhtar, Kalsoom, Ghauri, Muhammad Afzal
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 01.03.2017
Springer
Springer Nature B.V
Subjects
Acetates
Applied Microbiology
Bioconversion
Biodegradation
Biomedical and Life Sciences
Bioreactors
Biotransformation
Carbon dioxide
Coal
Consortia
Fish
Industrial applications
Life Sciences
Lignite
Medical Microbiology
Methane
Methanogenesis
Methanogenic bacteria
Microbial Ecology
Microbial Genetics and Genomics
Microbiology
Mycology
Review Article
Microbial diversity
Bioconversion
Coal biodegradation
Methanogenic consortia
Methanogens
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Summary:Microbial biodegradation of coal into low-molecular-weight compounds such as methane has been extensively researched in the last two decades because of the underlying environmental and industrial applications of this technique as compared to the chemical and physical methods of coal conversions. However, the irregular structure of coal and the need for complex microbial consortia under specific culture conditions do not make this biotransformation an ideal process for the development of anaerobic bioreactors. The most abundant species in a methanogenic culture are acetoclastic and hydrogenotrophic methanogens which utilize acetate and H 2 +CO 2 , respectively. Medium- to low-rank coals such as high-volatile bituminous, sub-bituminous and lignite are more promising in this bioconversion as compared to semi- and meta-anthracite coals. While covering the details of the ideal culture conditions, this review enlightens the need of research setups to explore the complex microbial consortia and culture conditions for maximum methane production through coal methanogenesis.
ISSN:1590-4261
1869-2044
DOI:10.1007/s13213-017-1255-5