Research on Algae Enhancing Biogenic Methane Production from Coal

Liu Zhu, Wangjie Diao (), Yi Liu, Peilin Zhu and Chenyao Gong
Additional contact information
Liu Zhu: School of Mines, China University of Mining & Technology, Xuzhou 221116, China
Wangjie Diao: School of Mines, China University of Mining & Technology, Xuzhou 221116, China
Yi Liu: School of Mines, China University of Mining & Technology, Xuzhou 221116, China
Peilin Zhu: School of Mines, China University of Mining & Technology, Xuzhou 221116, China
Chenyao Gong: School of Mines, China University of Mining & Technology, Xuzhou 221116, China

Sustainability, 2025, vol. 17, issue 17, 1-20

Abstract: The low efficiency of the microbial gasification of coal limits the application of bio-coal bed methane technology. The co-fermentation of coal and biomass provides a new approach for improving the degradation rate of coal. In this study, a co-fermentation system comprising five different coal orders with five microalgae was constructed in the laboratory, and the methanogenic characteristics of coal–algae co-fermentation and its microbiological mechanism were systematically investigated in terms of gas production, soluble organic matter, and microbial community characteristics. The results showed that the combination of lignite and Nannochloropsis exhibited optimal methane production, with a methane yield of 26.43 mL/g coal. Biogenic methane yields for lignite–Porphyra and anthracite–Porphyra were 23.43 mL and 21.28 mL, respectively, demonstrating the potential for algae to enhance gas production even in high-rank coals. pH monitoring revealed that algal species played a critical role in the acidification process. Dunaliella caused a continuous pH decrease, reaching 3.76 by day 30, while Nannochloropsis maintained a neutral pH of 6.95, optimizing the fermentation environment. Significant differences in soluble organic matter were observed between the lignite and anthracite fermentation systems, with lignite systems producing more volatile fatty acids, including acetic and butyric acids. Microbial community analysis revealed that Methanosarcina , an acetic acid-utilizing methanogen, was dominant in lignite and anthracite systems, while Syntrophomonas played a key role in lignite– Nannochloropsis co-fermentation. These findings provide valuable insights into optimizing coal microbial gasification and selecting appropriate algal species to enhance methane production efficiency.

Keywords: biogenic methane; algae; coal gasification; coal microbiology; coal rank (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/17/7960/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/17/7960/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:17:y:2025:i:17:p:7960-:d:1741706

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().