In situ transformation of ethoxylate and glycol surfactants by shale-colonizing microorganisms during hydraulic fracturing.

ABSTRACT: In the last decade, extensive application of hydraulic fracturing technologies to unconventional low-permeability hydrocarbon-rich formations has significantly increased natural-gas production in the United States and abroad. The injection of surface-sourced fluids to generate fractures in the deep subsurface introduces microbial cells and substrates to low-permeability rock. A subset of injected organic additives has been investigated for their ability to support biological growth in shale microbial community members; however, to date, little is known on how complex xenobiotic organic compounds undergo biotransformations in this deep rock ecosystem. Here, high-resolution chemical, metagenomic, and proteomic analyses reveal that widely-used surfactants are degraded by the shale-associated

SUBMITTER: Evans MV 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6794257 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature