The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) of Japan will conduct a study on converting carbon dioxide (CO2) into methane gas. The study will use microorganisms that live under the seabed and can convert CO2 into methane. The microorganisms will be dug up and mixed with CO2 to examine the process of methane generation. Combining the process with the carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology may open the door to creating a new energy resource that can be produced domestically.
The actual study will be undertaken next fiscal year by the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC) overseen by MEXT. The seabed about 100 km northeast of Hachinohe City, Aomori Prefecture, where methane hydrate deposits exist, will be excavated. From there, further drilling of about 2,200 m below the seabed would reach a deep coal seam where some types of microorganisms, which are classified as archaea and can produce methane, would be found. JAMSTEC will extract soil containing these microorganisms using its deep sea drilling vessel Chikyu, and combine the soil with CO2 to examine the process in which methane is generated.
The project was initially scheduled to take place from March 15 to May 21 last year. However, MEXT postponed the research study after the Great East Japan Earthquake on March 11 last year inflicted serious damage on the Pacific coast of the Tohoku region.
