| 1. |
- Rodrigues, Luiz F, et al.
(författare)
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Origin and alteration of organic matter in hydrate-bearing sediments of the Rio Grande Cone, Brazil : evidence from biological, physical, and chemical factors.
- 2020
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Ingår i: Radiocarbon. - : Cambridge University Press. - 0033-8222 .- 1945-5755. ; 62:1, s. 197-206
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The Rio Grande Cone is a major fanlike depositional feature in the continental slope of the Pelotas Basin, Southern Brazil. Two representative sediment cores collected in the Cone area were retrieved using a piston core device. In this work, the organic matter (OM) in the sediments was characterized for a continental vs. marine origin using chemical proxies to help constrain the origin of gas in hydrates. The main contribution of OM was from marine organic carbon based on the stable carbon isotope (δ13C-org) and total organic carbon/total nitrogen ratio (TOC:TN) analyses. In addition, the 14C data showed important information about the origin of the OM and we suggest some factors that could modify the original organic matter and therefore mask the “real” 14C ages: (1) biological activity that could modify the carbon isotopic composition of bulk terrestrial organic matter values, (2) the existence of younger sediments from mass wasting deposits unconformably overlying older sediments, and (3) the deep-sediment-sourced methane contribution due to the input of “old” (>50 ka) organic compounds from migrating fluids.
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| 2. |
- Braga, R., et al.
(författare)
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Modelling methane hydrate stability changes and gas release due to seasonal oscillations in bottom water temperatures on the Rio Grande cone, offshore southern Brazil
- 2020
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Ingår i: Marine and Petroleum Geology. - : Elsevier. - 0264-8172 .- 1873-4073. ; 112, s. 1-15
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The stability of methane hydrates on continental margins worldwide is sensitive to changes in temperature and pressure conditions. It has been shown how gradual increases in bottom water temperatures due to ocean warming over post-glacial timescales can destabilize shallow oceanic hydrate deposits, causing their dissociation and gas release into the ocean. However, bottom water temperatures (BWT) may also vary significantly over much shorter timescales, including due to seasonal temperature oscillations of the ocean bottom currents. In this study, we investigate how a shallow methane hydrate deposit responds to seasonal BWT oscillations with an amplitude of up to 1.5 °C. We use the TOUGH + HYDRATE code to model changes in the methane hydrate stability zone (MHSZ) using data from the Rio Grande Cone, in the South Atlantic Ocean off the Brazilian coast. In all the cases studied, BWT oscillations resulted in significant gaseous methane fluxes into the ocean for up to 10 years, followed by a short period of small fluxes of gaseous methane into the ocean, until they stopped completely. On the other hand, aqueous methane was released into the ocean during the 100 years simulated, for all the cases studied. During the temperature oscillations, the MHSZ recedes continuously both horizontally and, in a smaller scale, vertically, until a permanent and a seasonal region in MHSZ are defined. Sensitivity tests were carried out for parameters of porosity, thermal conductivity and initial hydrate saturation, which were shown to play an important role on the volume of methane released into the ocean and on the time interval in which such release occurs. Overall, the results indicate that in a system with no gas recharge from the bottom, seasonal temperature oscillations alone cannot account for long-term gas release into the ocean.
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| 3. |
- da Silva Ramos, Alessandro, et al.
(författare)
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Synthesis of new CO2 hydrate inhibitors
- 2020
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Ingår i: Journal of Natural Gas Science and Engineering. - : Elsevier. - 1875-5100 .- 2212-3865. ; 75, s. 1-6
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Gas hydrate is a crystalline compound made of water and mainly of gases methane and carbon dioxide under specific conditions of pressure and temperature. Increasing worldwide petroleum exploitation in deep waters, where these conditions are encountered, favours the precipitation of gas hydrate in seafloor pipelines, resulting in partial or total obstruction of petroleum flow. Brazil's largest petroleum reserves of the pre-salt interval, for example, are located in ultra-deep waters (>1500 m) and may have a gas composition of up to 80% of CO2. Huge investments are necessary to inhibit the formation of gas hydrate and to assure petroleum flow in pipelines. Here we present the results of the synthesis of new organic compounds obtained from L-Threonine, which show a high potential to be used as CO2 hydrate inhibitors. This characteristic is related to the increase carbon chain in each molecule (higher hydrophobicity) leading to a reduction on CO2 solubility in water. In addition to that, our study also shows the occurrence of the “salting out effect” and reduced water activity coefficient.
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| 4. |
- Giongo, Adriana, et al.
(författare)
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Adaption of microbial communities to the hostile environment in the Doce River after the collapse of two iron ore tailing dams
- 2020
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Ingår i: Heliyon. - : Elsevier. - 2405-8440. ; 6:8, s. 1-16
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In November 2015, two iron ore tailing dams collapsed in the city of Mariana, Brazil. The dams' collapse generated a wave of approximately 50 million m(3) of a mixture of mining waste and water. It was a major environmental tragedy in Brazilian history, which damaged rivers, and cities 660 km away in the Doce River basin until it reached the ocean coast. Shortly after the incident, several reports informed that the concentration of metals in the water was above acceptable legal limits under Brazilian laws. Here the microbial communities in samples of water, mud, foam, and rhizosphere of Eichhornia from Doce River were analyzed for 16S and 18S rRNA-based amplicon sequencing, along with microbial isolation, chemical and mineralogical analyses. Samples were collected one month and thirteen months after the collapse. Prokaryotic communities from mud shifted drastically over time (33% Bray-Curtis similarity), while water samples were more similar (63% Bray-Curtis similarity) in the same period. After 12 months, mud samples remained with high levels of heavy metals and a reduction in the diversity of microeukaryotes was detected. Amoebozoans increased in mud samples, reaching 49% of microeukaryote abundance, with Discosea and Lobosa groups being the most abundant. The microbial communities' structure in mud samples changed adapting to the new environment condition. The characterization of microbial communities and metal-tolerant organisms from such impacted environments is essential for understanding the ecological consequences of massive anthropogenic impacts and strategies for the restoration of contaminated sites such as the Doce River.
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| 5. |
- Giongo, Adriana, et al.
(författare)
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Distinct deep subsurface microbial communities in two sandstone units separated by a mudstone layer
- 2020
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Ingår i: Geosciences Journal. - : Springer. - 1226-4806 .- 1598-7477. ; 24, s. 267-274
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Deep subsurface microbial communities are more abundant in coarse-grained sedimentary rocks such as sandstones than in fine-grained mudstones. The low porosity and low permeability of mudstones are believed to restrict microbial life. Then, it is expected that distinct, isolated microbial communities may form in sandstones separated by mudstones. In this context, the connectivity between microbial communities in different sandstone units can be investigated to infer evolutionary patterns of diversification in space-time, which may potentially contribute with relevant data for analyses of hydraulic connectivity and stratigraphic correlation. In this work, we used high throughput DNA sequencing of a ribosomal 16S gene fragment to characterize the prokaryotic communities found in Permian sandstone samples of the same core that are separated by one mudstone interval, in the Charqueadas coal field, Parana Basin (Southern Brazil). Our samples were collected at ∌300 m deep, in porous sandstones separated by a thick mudstone package. Differences in the bacterial community structure between samples were observed for the classified OTUs, from phylum to genus. Molecular biology might be further applied as a possible tool to help to understand the spatial and temporal distribution of depositional facies, and the efficiency of low permeability rocks to compartmentalize reservoirs. Ongoing studies aim to extend the present investigation into further analyses regarding lateral changes in microbial communities present in the same sandstone units.
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| 6. |
- Ketzer, João Marcelo, et al.
(författare)
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Gas hydrate dissociation linked to contemporary ocean warming in the southern hemisphere
- 2020
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Ingår i: Nature Communications. - : Nature Publishing Group. - 2041-1723. ; 11:1, s. 1-9
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Ocean warming related to climate change has been proposed to cause the dissociation of gas hydrate deposits and methane leakage on the seafloor. This process occurs in places where the edge of the gas hydrate stability zone in sediments meets the overlying warmer oceans in upper slope settings. Here we present new evidence based on the analysis of a large multi-disciplinary and multi-scale dataset from such a location in the western South Atlantic, which records massive gas release to the ocean. The results provide a unique opportunity to examine ocean-hydrate interactions over millennial and decadal scales, and the first evidence from the southern hemisphere for the effects of contemporary ocean warming on gas hydrate stability. Widespread hydrate dissociation results in a highly focused advective methane flux that is not fully accessible to anaerobic oxidation, challenging the assumption that it is mostly consumed by sulfate reduction before reaching the seafloor.
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| 7. |
- Pires, Jessica Pereira, et al.
(författare)
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Analysis of the Effect of Organic Salts Derived from L-Phenylalanine Amino Acid as Kinetic Promoters/Inhibitors of CO2 Hydrates
- 2021
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Ingår i: Energy & Fuels. - : American Chemical Society (ACS). - 0887-0624 .- 1520-5029. ; 35:9, s. 8095-8101
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Carbon dioxide capture, storage, and transport technology based on the formation of gas hydrate is an innovative solution. In this work, the experimental investigations on the formation of CO2 hydrates were carried out with aqueous solutions containing 0.5% by weight of three different organic salts synthesized from L-phenylalanine and different alcohols under isochoric conditions. All of the synthesized compounds were obtained with good yields (74.2-87.7%), and among them, the nonyl L-phenylalanine hydrochloride is an unprecedented compound. In addition, there has not been any study with organic salts aiming to verify their influence as an inhibitor or promoter of CO2 hydrates. The compound pentyl L-phenylalanine hydrochloride showed a successful result in promoting CO2 hydrate since it achieved a shorter induction time (1.74 h), a higher CO2 consumption rate, and better storage capacity (slope of the pressure curve). In addition, dodecyl L-phenylalanine hydrochloride has the characteristic of CO2 hydrate inhibitor, and therefore it was observed that the increase of the side-chain hydrophobicity (carbon chain linked to the oxygen function of the ester function) provides the effect of inhibiting CO2 hydrates.
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| 8. |
- Rahmati-Abkenar, Mahboubeh, et al.
(författare)
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A New Dynamic Modeling Approach to Predict Microbial Methane Generation and Consumption in Marine Sediments
- 2021
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Ingår i: Energies. - : MDPI. - 1996-1073. ; 14:18
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Methane, as a clean energy source and a potent greenhouse gas, is produced in marine sediments by microbes via complex biogeochemical processes associated with the mineralization of organic matter. Quantitative modeling of biogeochemical processes is a crucial way to advance the understanding of the global carbon cycle and the past, present, and future of climate change. Here, we present a new approach of dynamic transport-reaction model combined with sediment deposition. Compared to other studies, since the model does not need the methane concentration in the bottom of sediments and predicts that value, it provides us with a robust carbon budget estimation tool in the sediment. We applied the model to the Blake Ridge region (Ocean Drilling Program, Leg 164, site 997). Based on seafloor data as input, our model remarkably reproduces measured values of total organic carbon, dissolved inorganic carbon, sulfate, calcium, and magnesium concentration in pore waters and the in situ methane presented in three phases: dissolved in pore water, trapped in gas hydrate, and as free gas. Kinetically, we examined the coexistence of free gas and hydrate, and demonstrated how it might affect methane gas migration in marine sediment within the gas hydrate stability zone.
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| 9. |
- Ramos, Alessandro da Silva, et al.
(författare)
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Organic salts as kinetic and thermodynamic inhibitors for CO2 hydrate precipitation
- 2020
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Ingår i: Journal of Natural Gas Science and Engineering. - : Elsevier. - 1875-5100 .- 2212-3865. ; 82, s. 1-8
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In this work, we opted for the use of CO2 gas for the respective experiments, due to its greater solubility in water when compared to hydrocarbons, as well as possible applications in pre-salt oil fields (such as the Libra field), where the amount of CO2 varies between 40 and 80%, obstructing the pipelines in the CO2 capture stage. In this context, the objective of this work is to obtain organic salts of different amino acids and alcohols (biodegradable and environmentally friendly compounds) and to test them in a pilot gas hydrate synthesis plant, with the goal of evaluate the inhibition potential of these compounds for CO2 hydrates. The organic compounds were synthesized with good yields and were characterized by NMR (C-13 and H-1) and elementary analysis. The compounds with greater hydrophilic character showed thermodynamic inhibition effects for the tested condition, while the hydrophobic compounds showed kinetic inhibition effects. The fundamental knowledge and the mechanism on the kinetic and/or thermodynamic inhibition of CO2 hydrates from organic salts obtained in this study are beneficial and extremely important, given the good results presented and the unprecedented application of the tested compounds.
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| 10. |
- Shahabi-Ghahfarokhi, Sina, et al.
(författare)
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Background concentrations and extent of Cu, As, Co, and U contamination in Baltic Sea sediments
- 2021
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Ingår i: Journal of Sea Research. - : Elsevier. - 1385-1101 .- 1873-1414. ; 176
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This study established background (pre-industrial) values of copper (Cu), arsenic (As), cobalt (Co), and uranium (U) in Baltic Sea sediments. The indicated background values could help identifying the spatial and temporal anthropogenic loads of these elements (metals and metalloids) in the Baltic Sea. In this study, 137 sediment samples were collected from cores obtained from 13 monitoring stations in the Gulf of Bothnia (Bothnian Bay and Sea) and the entire Baltic Proper. To understand the extent of contamination, we used direct and combined methods to define the geochemical background values as inputs for the geochemical index (Igeo) calculation. The obtained values were then compared with the background values established by the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency. From the direct method, Cu, Co, As, and U had background values of 39, 21.5, 12.4, and 6.3 mg kg−1 DW. Copper and U exhibited concentrations above the background values in surface sediment in the western and eastern Baltic Proper (maximum Igeo indicates moderate contamination). Arsenic was above background concentrations in the Baltic Sea and highest in the Gulf of Bothnia (maximum Igeo indicates strong contamination). Cobalt concentrations were within the range of background values (no contamination).
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