UN-Lincoln researchers shows methanogens can boost methane production with hydrogen and calcium carbonate

In Nebraska, a University of Nebraska-Lincoln research team has identified new microscopic players in the global carbon cycle, a discovery that paints a clearer picture of carbon flow through the environment and provides key information for the sustainable development of bioenergy sources.

A recent publication in Communications Earth and Environment is among the first studies to show that methanogens — microorganisms ubiquitous in low-oxygen environments like lakes, wetlands, aquifers, freshwater habitats, a variety of soils and even permafrost — can propel their growth by consuming hydrogen and dissolving calcium carbonate, one of Earth’s most abundant minerals. This metabolic process produces methane, which is both a biofuel and a potent greenhouse gas.