Salt and Methane Generation Initiated by Membrane Polarisation

Zoltán Unger; David Leclair

doi:doi:10.11648/j.earth.20180702.12

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Salt and Methane Generation Initiated by Membrane Polarisation

Zoltán Unger, David Leclair

Published in Earth Sciences (Volume 7, Issue 2)

Received: 8 December 2017 Accepted: 23 January 2018 Published: 9 February 2018

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Abstract

The existence of deep marine hypersaline anoxic basins (DHAB) has been well-documented starting with the MedRiff Project in the Eastern Mediterranean. We suppose that there is analogy between the recent and ancient DHABs. This premise allows us to hypothesize that some methane accumulations in geological reservoirs may have been generated by historical euryhaline bacteria. The extreme life conditions of the bacteria and the facieses, as found in currently existing supersaturated salt brines DHABs, may have also existed in the geological past. Since salt basins overlap some of the most productive gas provinces, this article aims to introduce a new approach to salt and methane generation. It highlights the need to reconsider the classical approach to salt and methane generation due to new observations. Hereby we describe a new mechanism for DHAB generation due to membrane polarization. These phenomena generate a surface on which seawater of normal salinity meets the underneath brine of high salinity, and there is no diffusion between them. Hence we presume that non-crystalized, over-pressured, salty brine is the appropriate material to trap and host methane. Following overburden by deposited basin sediments, this viscous, gas-saturated brine can be an engine for diapir formation, which is prior to the crystalline phase. This new idea redefines our search for salt and methane deposits yet it requires further research and consideration, along with the new approach of salt diapir formation in specific salt basins.

Published in	Earth Sciences (Volume 7, Issue 2)
DOI	10.11648/j.earth.20180702.12
Page(s)	53-57
Creative Commons	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright	Copyright © The Author(s), 2018. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Salt and Methane Generation, DHAB, Membrane Polarization, Surface Tension, Flocculation, Coagulation, Reverse Osmotic Pressure, Salt Diapir Formation

References

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[3]	Berry, F. A. F., 1969, Relative factors influencing membrane filtration effects in geologic environments, in Chemical Geology, Volume 4, Issue 1, pp. 295-301.
[4]	Borin, S., Brusetti, L., Mapelli, F., D’Auria, G., Brusa, T., Marzorati, M., Rizzi, A., Yakimov, M., Marty, D., De Lange, G. J., Van der Wielen, P., Bolhuis, H., McGenity, T. J., Polymenakou, P. N., Malinverno, E., Giuliano, L., Corselli, C., Daffonchio, D., 2008, Sulphur cycling and methanogenesis primarily drive microbial colonization of the highly sulfidic Urania deep hypersaline basin, in PNAS June 9, 2009 vol. 106 no. 239151-9156.
[5]	Cao, Fangyu & Liu, Ying & Xu, Jiajun & He, Yadong & Hammouda, B & Qiao, Rui & Yang, Bao. (2015). Probing Nanoscale Thermal Transport in Surfactant Solutions. Scientific Reports. 5. 16040. 10.1038/srep16040.
[6]	Corselli, C., Basso, D., Lange, G., Thomson, J., 1995, Mediterranean Ridge Accretionary Complex yields rich surprises, in EOS, Transactions AGU, 76, p. 313.
[7]	Clarke F. W., 1920, The data of geochemistry, USGS Bulletin 695, pp. 212-254.
[8]	Harris, G. D., 1908, Rock salt, its origin, geological occurrences, and economic importance in the state of Louisiana; Lousiana Geol. Survey Bull. 7, p. 173.
[9]	Jackson, M. P. A., Vendeville, B. C., Schultz-Ela, D. D., 1994, Structural Dynamics of Salt Systems, in Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Science Vol. 22, pp93-117.
[10]	Karisiddaiah, S. M., 2000, Diverse methane concentrations in anoxic brines and underlying sediments, eastern Mediterranean Sea Deep-Sea Research I 47 pp. 1999-2008.
[11]	MEDRIFF Consortium, 1995, Three brine lakes discovered in the seafloor of the Eastern Mediterranean. EOS, Transactions of American Geophysical Union 76, 313.
[12]	Franz Posepny, 1871, Studien aus dem Salinargebiete Siebenbürgen, p. 178.
[13]	Thomas S., 2008, Salt’s Effects on Petroleum Systems, GEOExPro, Vol. 5, No. 5.
[14]	Wanek, F., 2008, Az Erdélyi-medence földgáztelepeinek és azok felszíni jeleinek ismerete Nyulas Ferenc halálától, az 1908-as (újbóli) felfedezésig (The discovery history of the natural gas deposits from the Transylvanian Basin beginning with the death of Ferenc Nyulas until it’s (re) discovery in 1908), Műszaki Szemle (Technical Review), 44. Historia Scientiarum – 5. (Tudománytörténeti különkiadás /Special Issue in History of Sciences), 3-16.
[15]	Yakimov, M. M., La Cono, V., Slepak, V. Z., La Spada, G., Arcadi, E., Messina, E., Borghini, M., Monticelli, S. L., Rojo, D., Barbas, C., Golyshina, O. V., Ferrer, M., Golyshin, P., Giuliano, L., 2013, Microbial life in the Lake Medee, the largest deep-sea salt-saturated formation. Sci. Rep. 3, 3554.
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[17]	H. Ward, S. H (1990) Resistivity and Induced Polarization Methods. Geotechnical and Environmental Geophysics: pp. 147-190.

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Zoltán Unger, David Leclair. (2018). Salt and Methane Generation Initiated by Membrane Polarisation. Earth Sciences, 7(2), 53-57. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.earth.20180702.12

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ACS Style

Zoltán Unger; David Leclair. Salt and Methane Generation Initiated by Membrane Polarisation. Earth Sci. 2018, 7(2), 53-57. doi: 10.11648/j.earth.20180702.12

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AMA Style

Zoltán Unger, David Leclair. Salt and Methane Generation Initiated by Membrane Polarisation. Earth Sci. 2018;7(2):53-57. doi: 10.11648/j.earth.20180702.12

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@article{10.11648/j.earth.20180702.12,
  author = {Zoltán Unger and David Leclair},
  title = {Salt and Methane Generation Initiated by Membrane Polarisation},
  journal = {Earth Sciences},
  volume = {7},
  number = {2},
  pages = {53-57},
  doi = {10.11648/j.earth.20180702.12},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.earth.20180702.12},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.earth.20180702.12},
  abstract = {The existence of deep marine hypersaline anoxic basins (DHAB) has been well-documented starting with the MedRiff Project in the Eastern Mediterranean. We suppose that there is analogy between the recent and ancient DHABs. This premise allows us to hypothesize that some methane accumulations in geological reservoirs may have been generated by historical euryhaline bacteria. The extreme life conditions of the bacteria and the facieses, as found in currently existing supersaturated salt brines DHABs, may have also existed in the geological past. Since salt basins overlap some of the most productive gas provinces, this article aims to introduce a new approach to salt and methane generation. It highlights the need to reconsider the classical approach to salt and methane generation due to new observations. Hereby we describe a new mechanism for DHAB generation due to membrane polarization. These phenomena generate a surface on which seawater of normal salinity meets the underneath brine of high salinity, and there is no diffusion between them. Hence we presume that non-crystalized, over-pressured, salty brine is the appropriate material to trap and host methane. Following overburden by deposited basin sediments, this viscous, gas-saturated brine can be an engine for diapir formation, which is prior to the crystalline phase. This new idea redefines our search for salt and methane deposits yet it requires further research and consideration, along with the new approach of salt diapir formation in specific salt basins.},
 year = {2018}
}

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TY - JOUR
T1 - Salt and Methane Generation Initiated by Membrane Polarisation
AU - Zoltán Unger
AU - David Leclair
Y1 - 2018/02/09
PY - 2018
N1 - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.earth.20180702.12
DO - 10.11648/j.earth.20180702.12
T2 - Earth Sciences
JF - Earth Sciences
JO - Earth Sciences
SP - 53
EP - 57
PB - Science Publishing Group
SN - 2328-5982
UR - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.earth.20180702.12
AB - The existence of deep marine hypersaline anoxic basins (DHAB) has been well-documented starting with the MedRiff Project in the Eastern Mediterranean. We suppose that there is analogy between the recent and ancient DHABs. This premise allows us to hypothesize that some methane accumulations in geological reservoirs may have been generated by historical euryhaline bacteria. The extreme life conditions of the bacteria and the facieses, as found in currently existing supersaturated salt brines DHABs, may have also existed in the geological past. Since salt basins overlap some of the most productive gas provinces, this article aims to introduce a new approach to salt and methane generation. It highlights the need to reconsider the classical approach to salt and methane generation due to new observations. Hereby we describe a new mechanism for DHAB generation due to membrane polarization. These phenomena generate a surface on which seawater of normal salinity meets the underneath brine of high salinity, and there is no diffusion between them. Hence we presume that non-crystalized, over-pressured, salty brine is the appropriate material to trap and host methane. Following overburden by deposited basin sediments, this viscous, gas-saturated brine can be an engine for diapir formation, which is prior to the crystalline phase. This new idea redefines our search for salt and methane deposits yet it requires further research and consideration, along with the new approach of salt diapir formation in specific salt basins.
VL - 7
IS - 2
ER -

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Author Information

Zoltán Unger

Department of Geography, E?tv?s Loránd University, Szombathely, Hungary
David Leclair

O&GD Central Ltd., Budapest, Hungary

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APA Style

Zoltán Unger, David Leclair. (2018). Salt and Methane Generation Initiated by Membrane Polarisation. Earth Sciences, 7(2), 53-57. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.earth.20180702.12

Copy | Download

ACS Style

Zoltán Unger; David Leclair. Salt and Methane Generation Initiated by Membrane Polarisation. Earth Sci. 2018, 7(2), 53-57. doi: 10.11648/j.earth.20180702.12

Copy | Download

AMA Style

Zoltán Unger, David Leclair. Salt and Methane Generation Initiated by Membrane Polarisation. Earth Sci. 2018;7(2):53-57. doi: 10.11648/j.earth.20180702.12

Copy | Download

@article{10.11648/j.earth.20180702.12,
  author = {Zoltán Unger and David Leclair},
  title = {Salt and Methane Generation Initiated by Membrane Polarisation},
  journal = {Earth Sciences},
  volume = {7},
  number = {2},
  pages = {53-57},
  doi = {10.11648/j.earth.20180702.12},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.earth.20180702.12},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.earth.20180702.12},
  abstract = {The existence of deep marine hypersaline anoxic basins (DHAB) has been well-documented starting with the MedRiff Project in the Eastern Mediterranean. We suppose that there is analogy between the recent and ancient DHABs. This premise allows us to hypothesize that some methane accumulations in geological reservoirs may have been generated by historical euryhaline bacteria. The extreme life conditions of the bacteria and the facieses, as found in currently existing supersaturated salt brines DHABs, may have also existed in the geological past. Since salt basins overlap some of the most productive gas provinces, this article aims to introduce a new approach to salt and methane generation. It highlights the need to reconsider the classical approach to salt and methane generation due to new observations. Hereby we describe a new mechanism for DHAB generation due to membrane polarization. These phenomena generate a surface on which seawater of normal salinity meets the underneath brine of high salinity, and there is no diffusion between them. Hence we presume that non-crystalized, over-pressured, salty brine is the appropriate material to trap and host methane. Following overburden by deposited basin sediments, this viscous, gas-saturated brine can be an engine for diapir formation, which is prior to the crystalline phase. This new idea redefines our search for salt and methane deposits yet it requires further research and consideration, along with the new approach of salt diapir formation in specific salt basins.},
 year = {2018}
}

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