91制片厂

Almost a third of the gas produced in the U.S. 鈥� more than 16 trillion cubic feet in 2017 鈥� was extracted by hydraulically fracturing shale deep below the Earth鈥檚 surface to release natural gas. But as 鈥渇racking鈥� sends equipment and fluids into this previously untouched environment two kilometers below us, it introduces microbes that can alter the ecosystem.

With a new U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) grant, 91制片厂 associate professor of civil and environmental engineering aims to understand how the organisms fracking brings into this new environment adapt and thrive. Her findings will help engineers and the industry manage microbial communities that can affect the quality of the gas, clog shale fractures and foul extraction equipment.

鈥淔racking sends down millions of liters of water from the surface containing trillions of microbial cells and fracking chemical additives; this combination creates a new deep subsurface ecosystem,鈥� Mouser says, comparing the process to humans introducing microbial matter to an environment like the moon. 鈥淭he microbiology affects the value of the resource we鈥檙e developing, including how much we recover.鈥�

鈥淔racking sends down millions of liters of water from the surface containing trillions of microbial cells and fracking chemical additives; this combination creates a new deep subsurface ecosystem.鈥�

With the grant of $740,000, Mouser will assemble a team of undergraduates, graduate students and a postdoctoral researcher to study the role that microbial membranes 鈥� the 鈥渟kin鈥� of these microbes 鈥� play in helping the organisms adapt. 鈥淟ike our skin, these membranes are constantly adapting based on temperature, nutrient availability and other environmental factors,鈥� she says. 鈥淭his affects the organism鈥檚 ability to attach to a surface鈥� 鈥� like shale fractures or fracking well equipment.

The funding, through the DOE鈥檚 Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research or EPSCoR initiative, will enhance the 91制片厂 researchers鈥� partnerships with two DOE national laboratories, the in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and the at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Washington state. Mouser and her students will visit and collect samples from a large DOE-funded research field site in West Virginia, the or MSEEL.

While fracking is not without controversy, Mouser says her research aims to bring rigorous science to the production of a resource ubiquitous in our daily lives.

鈥淲e use fossil fuels to heat our homes and drive our cars; they鈥檙e in almost every product we see around the house,鈥� she says. 鈥淲e鈥檙e all responsible for the demand of our natural resources.鈥�

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