Carbon Isotope Fractionation in Bacterial Production of Methane

Abstract

Anaerobic bacteria from a Pacific Ocean mud cause unusually large carbon isotope fractionations during fermentation of methanol. The methane produced is about 8 percent enriched in C 12 , relative to the original methanol. Fractionation factors determined at 30°C and 23°C were 1.081 and 1.094, respectively, which indicates that this process is dependent on temperature.