Role of adsorption and swelling on the dynamics of gas injection in coal

TLDR

The study aims to elucidate mechanisms affecting permeability during CO₂ storage in coal seams. The authors performed transient‑step gas‑injection experiments on coal cores under controlled hydrostatic pressures, injecting He, N₂, and CO₂ to probe mechanical compliance and adsorption‑swelling effects, and modeled the results with mass‑balance and constitutive equations linking porosity and permeability. The study validates a semi‑empirical permeability‑pressure relationship, showing that permeability rises as effective pressure falls, but is reduced by gas‑induced swelling—CO₂ causing a stronger decrease than N₂.

Abstract

An experimental technique is presented to perform gas injection experiments on coal cores confined by an external hydrostatic pressure, which makes use of the so‐called transient step method. The experiments are intended to improve the knowledge on the different mechanisms acting during CO 2 storage in coal seams, in particular, those related to permeability. Helium, nitrogen, and carbon dioxide have been injected at pressure ranging from 10 to 80 bars and at confining pressures varying between 60 and 140 bars. The experiments with helium have been used to study the mechanical compliance of the coal core, whereas those with the adsorbing N 2 and CO 2 to study the effects of adsorption and swelling on the flow dynamics. The obtained experimental transient steps were successfully described using a mathematical model, consisting of mass balances accounting for gas flow and adsorption, and mechanical constitutive equations for the description of porosity and permeability changes during injection. A semiempirical relationship between permeability and operating pressures is validated, and the corresponding parameters have been evaluated. Results showed increase in permeability with decreasing effective pressure on the sample and, when an adsorbing gas was injected, a reduction in permeability caused by swelling, with CO 2 having a stronger effect compared to N 2 .