Technique of coal mining and gas extraction without coal pillar in multi-seam with low permeability

Aimed at the low mining efficiency in deep multi-seams because of high crustalstress,high gas content,low permeability,the compound 'three soft' roof and the trouble-somesafety situation encountered in deep level coal exploitation,proposed a new idea ofgob-side retaining without a coal-pillar and Y-style ventilation in the first-mined key pressure-relieved coal seam and a new method of coal mining and gas extraction.The followingwere discovered:the dynamic evolution law of the crannies in the roof is influenced bymining,the formative rule of 'the vertical cranny-abundant area' along the gob-side,thedistribution of air pressure field in the gob,and the flowing rule of pressure-relieved gas ina Y-style ventilation system.The study also established a theoretic basis for a new miningmethod of coal mining and gas extraction which is used to extract the pressure-relievedgas by roadway retaining boreholes instead of roadway boreholes.Studied and resolvedmany difficult key problems,such as,fast roadway retaining at the gob-side without a coalpillar,Y-style ventilation and extraction of pressure-relieved gas by roadway retainingboreholes,and so on.The study innovated and integrated a whole set of technical systemsfor coal and pressure relief gas extraction.The method of the pressure-relieved gasextraction by roadway retaining had been successfully applied in 6 typical working faces inthe Huainan and Huaibei mining areas.The research can provide a scientific and reliabletechnical support and a demonstration for coal mining and gas extraction in gaseous deepmulti-seams with low permeability.

Research into comprehensive gas extraction technology of single coal seams with low permeability in the Jiaozuo coal mining area

For a low permeability single coal seam prone to gas outbursts, pre-drainage of gas is difficult and inefficient, seriously restricting the safety and efficiency of production. Radical measures of increasing gas extraction efficiency are pressure relief and infrared antireflection. We have analyzed the effect of mining conditions and the regularity of mine pressure distribution in front of the working face of a major coal mine of the Jiaozuo Industrial （Group） Co. as our test area, studied the width of the depressurization zone in slice mining and analyzed gas efficiency and fast drainage in the advanced stress relaxation zone. On that basis, we further investigated and practiced the exploitation technology of shallow drilling, fan dril- ling and grid shape drilling at the working face. Practice and our results show that the stress relaxation zone is the ideal region for quick and efficient extraction of gas. By means of an integrated extraction technology, the amount of gas emitted into the zone was greatly reduced, while the risk of dangerous outbursts of coal and gas was lowered markedly. This exploration provides a new way to control for gas in working faces of coal mines with low permeability and risk of gas outbursts of single coal seams in the Jiaozuo mining area.

Numerical simulation and experiment analysis of improving permeability by deep-hole presplitting explosion in high gassy and low permeability coal seam

Created a new damage model for explosive for LS-DYNA3D,taking advantageof the Taylor method aimed at the high gassy and low permeability coal seam,and numericallysimulated and analyzed the deep-hole presplitting explosion.The entire processof explosion was represented,including cracks caused by dynamic pressure,transmissionand vibration superposition of stress waves,as well as cracks growth driven by gas generatedby explosion.The influence of the cracks generated in the process of explosion andthe performance of improving permeability caused by the difference of interval between.explosive holes were analyzed.A reasonable interval between explosive holes of deepholepresplitting explosions in high gassy and low permeability coal seams was proposed,and the resolution of gas drainage in high gassy and low permeability coal seam was putforward.

Hydraulic drill hole reaming technology with large flow and draining of coal mine gas

This paper takes Zhaozhuang mine in Shanxi province as an example to study the technology of hydraulic reaming drill hole for improving the gas extraction.The influence of the physical properties of coal seam on the hydraulic reaming drill holes and the draining of coal mine gas were analyzed and discussed for different coal structure areas,and the following conclusions were made.Hydraulic drill hole reaming has had a positive impact in Zhaozhuang Mine,and can improve the efficiency of gas extraction to different degrees.The water jet pressure used in hydraulic drill hole reaming mainly depends on the structure of the coal.When the coal seam basically becomes integrated,the critical water jet pressure increases,the discharge becomes relatively easy to achieve,the blocking effect on the gas extraction decreases,and the gas extraction significantly increases after the reaming process.When the coal seam is broken,the critical water jet pressure decreases,the discharge becomes difficult to achieve,the blocking effect on the gas extraction becomes obvious,and the gas extraction changes slightly after reaming.

Progress on the hydraulic measures for grid slotting and fracking to enhance coal seam permeability

A method of hydraulic grid slotting and hydraulic fracturing was proposed to enhance the permeability of low permeability coal seam in China. Micro-structural development and strength characteristics of coal were analysed to set up the failure criterion of coal containing water and gas, which could describe the destruction rule of coal containing gas under the hydraulic measures more accurately. Based on the theory of transient flow and fluid grid, the numerical calculation model of turbulence formed by high pressure oscillating water jet was used. With the high speed photography test, dynamic evolution and pulsation characteristics of water jet water analysed which laid a foundation for mechanism analysis of rock damage under water jet. Wave equation of oscillating water jet slotting was established and the mechanism of coal damage by the impact stress wave under oscillation jet was revealed. These provide a new method to study the mechanism of porosity and crack damage under high pressure jet.Fracture criterion by jet slotting was established and mechanism of crack development controlled by crack zone between slots was found. The fractures were induced to extend along pre-set direction,instead of being controlled by original stress field. The model of gas migration through coal seams after the hydraulic measures for grid slotting and fracking was established. The key technology and equipment for grid slotting and fracking with high-pressure oscillating jet were developed and applied to coal mines in Chongqing and Henan in China. The results show that the gas permeability of coal seam is enhanced by three orders of magnitude, efficiency of roadway excavation and mining is improved by more than 57%and the cost of gas control is reduced by 50%.

How moisture loss affects coal porosity and permeability during gas recovery in wet reservoirs?

Moisture in coal seams changes gas adsorption capacity, induces coal deformation, and affects coal porosity. However, fewer studies have investigated the dynamic process of moisture loss. In this study, a fully coupled multi-physical model for coal deformation, gas flow and moisture loss was implemented. It validated the coal-gas-moisture interactions of the decay of gas adsorption capacity and the coal shrinkage.Subsequently, the proposed model was applied to a simulation of coal seam gas recovery from wet reservoir and solved using the finite method in COMSOL Multiphysics 3.5. Analyses of the component factors and the sensitive parameters of moisture loss on coal porosity and permeability were comprehensively studied at last. The results reveal that moisture loss enhances coal porosity and permeability. The decay of gas adsorption capacity decreases coal permeability while the coal shrinkage promotes it. The decrease of the adsorption decay coefficient and the increase of the initial density of saturated water vapor and water evaporation constant can enhance the permeability of wet coal seams.

Effect of damage zone around borehole on carbon dioxide injection promoted gas extraction in soft and low-permeability coal seam

Injecting external CO_(2) into soft and low-permeability coal seams can improve CH4 extacctinn efficiency, and also benefit in CO_(2) sequestration. However, the distribution law of damage zone around borehole in soft coal seam and its effect on the efficiency of CO_(2) injection promoted CH4 extraction are not clear. In this paper, a multi-physics coupling mathematical model considering damage effect is established for simulating the process of CO_(2) injection promoted CH4 extraction in soft and low-permeability coal seam. The distribution of damage zone and permeability around boreholes under different diameters and coal strengths are analyzed. The gas pressure and gas content in coal seam during CO_(2) injection promoted CH4 extraction when the model considered damage effect are compared with that of ignored. The results show that small borehole diameter corresponds to narrow damage zone around the borehole in coal seam. The damage zone expands with the increase of the borehole diameter. The damage zone increases exponentially with the borehole diameter, while decreases exponentially with the compressive strength of coal seam. The highest permeability in the damage zone has increased by nearly 300 times under the condition of simulated case. CH4 pressure around the extraction borehole reduces, and the reduction area expands with the increase of time. Compared with the result of considering the damage effect, the reduction area of ignoring it is smaller, and the reducing speed is slower. The integrated effect of CO_(2) injection and CH4 extraction leads to rapid decrease of CH4 content in coal seam near the boreholes. The CO_(2) pressure and content increase around the injection borehole, and the increasing area gradually extends to the whole coal seam. In soft coal seams, failure to consider the damage effect will underestimate the efficiency of CH4 extraction and CO_(2) sequestration, resulting conservative layout of boreholes.

Definition, theory, methods, and applications of the safe and efficient simultaneous extraction of coal and gas

Simultaneous extraction of the coal and gas is an effective method of eliminating coal mine gas disasters while safely exploiting the coal and achieving efficient gas drainage in China, which is widely accepted by the main coal-producing countries around the world. However, the concrete definition of simultaneous extraction is vague and there is little accurate theoretical support for the simultaneous extraction of coal and gas, which makes it difficult to determine an efficient gas drainage method appropriate to the features of coal seams. Based on theoretical analysis, laboratory tests and field observations, a specific definition of simultaneous extraction of coal and gas is proposed after analyzing the characteristics of coal seam occurrences in China, and we developed the mechanism of mining-enhanced permeability and established the corresponding theoretical model. This comprises a process of fracture network formation, in which the original fractures are opened and new fractures are produced by unloading damage. According to the theoretical model, the engineering approaches and their quantitative parameters of ＇unloading by borehole drilling＇ for single coal seams and ＇unloading by protective seam mining＇ for groups of coal seams are proposed, and the construction principles for coal exploitation and gas-drainage systems for different conditions are given. These methods were applied successfully in the Tunlan Coal Mine in Shanxi Province and the Panyi Coal Mine in Anhui Province and could assure safe and efficient simultaneous extraction of coal and gas in these outburst coal mines.

Horizontal borehole azimuth optimization for enhanced stability and coal seam gas production

Horizontal boreholes have been widely used to extract natural gas from coal seams.However,these boreholes can encounter severe instability issues leading to production interruption.Optimizing drilling azimuth is a potential solution for enhancing borehole stability while considering gas production.In this work,we improved and implemented a dual-porosity,fully coupled geomechanical-hydraulic numerical model into COMSOL Multiphysics to investigate into this factor.The sophisticated numerical model incorporates various critical factors,including desorption-induced matrix shrinkage,stress-dependent anisotropic fracture permeability,and the interactions of gas flow and reservoir deformation in matrices and fractures.A suite of simulation scenarios(e.g.,varying coal strength)was carried out to quantify the impact of drilling azimuth on coal permeability evolution,cumulative gas production,and the borehole break-out width for Goonyella Middle Seam of Bowen Basin,Australia.The model was calibrated against both theoretical permeability values and field gas production data.Due to the lack of directly measured matrix permeability data,the actual gas production was used to back calculate the best-matched matrix permeability,which is 0.65μD for this particular work.Moreover,based on the breakout shape and induced volumetric strains around the borehole,drilling along the maximum horizontal stress does not necessarily lead to the best stability of the borehole,as generally believed.A drilling azimuth between 0and 60results in similar breakout width,whereas a drilling azimuth between 60and 90achieves the most efficient gas production.By considering both gas production efficiency and borehole stability,for this particular reservoir condition,the optimum drilling azimuth is determined to be between 45and 60.This study presents a practical approach for determining the optimum drilling azimuth in coal seam gas extraction through in seam boreholes.

Current status and technical challenges of C_(2)storage in coal seams and enhanced coalbed methane recovery:an overview

In the past two decades,research on C_(2)storage in coal seams and simultaneously enhanced coalbed methane recovery(ECBM)has attracted a lot of attention due to its win–win effect between greenhouse gas(C_(2))emission reduction and coalbed methane recovery enhancement.This paper presents an overview on the current status of research on C_(2)-ECBM in the past two decades,which involves C_(2)storage capacity evaluations,laboratory investigations,modelings and pilot tests.The current status shows that we have made great progress in the ECBM technology study,especially in the understanding of the ECBM mechanisms.However,there still have many technical challenges,such as the definition of unmineable coal seams for C_(2)storage capacity evaluation and storage site characterization,methods for C_(2)injectivity enhancement,etc.The low injectivity of coal seams and injectivity loss with C_(2)injection are the major technique challenges of ECBM.We also search several ways to promote the advancement of ECBM technology in the present stage,such as integrating ECBM with hydraulic fracturing,using a gas mixture instead of pure C_(2)for injection into coal seams and the application of ECBM to underground coal mines.

煤层顶板间接压裂裂缝扩展机制及影响因素

碎软低渗煤层在我国普遍发育,制约煤层气单井产气量提高和产业发展。间接压裂是通过在邻近层产生垂直裂缝沟通煤层进而实现煤层有效改造的一种压裂方式,可以有效应对钻井塌陷、煤粉产出、压裂液滤失和煤层厚度薄等不利因素。通过间接压裂物理模拟试验和扩展有限元数值模拟分析,揭示煤层顶板间接压裂裂缝扩展影响因素,明确裂缝扩展机制,以期为间接压裂技术提供指导。通过直接压裂煤层和不同起裂位置、垂向应力和施工排量影响下间接压裂试验表明,起裂压力高,更易产生长裂缝,且受原生裂缝影响程度减小;但起裂点距离煤层越远,起裂所需能量越大,高破裂压力会对煤层造成粉碎性破坏;大施工排量下,起裂压力对应升高,起裂时间变短,原生裂缝影响程度变小。考虑地应力、起裂位置、岩石力学和施工排量等参数的数值模拟结果显示,在模型参数设置条件下,最大水平主应力和垂向应力差在<4 MPa,煤层与顶板有效应力差>3 MPa、弹性模量差<15 GPa的地层和岩性组合适合间接压裂,起裂位置距离煤层最优距离为<6 m,施工排量需要根据力学性质、断裂能密度等参数确定最优范围。

低透气煤层无泵式钻扩一体化增透技术与钻具研究

针对在低透气煤层常规机械掏穴、水力冲孔等增透施工中存在的施工效率低、掏穴装置稳定性差以及需要配备高压泵等问题,提出了无泵式钻扩一体化增透施工技术,研制了配套的双通道送水器、双通道钻杆和造穴装置,并进行了现场工业性试验。结果表明:钻扩一体化增透施工技术在煤矿井下静压水条件下,可实现一趟下钻完成先导孔和机械掏穴的同时作业,解决了常规掏穴装置刀翼开合不稳定、必须配套高压泵的问题,降低了该技术的使用成本;研发的双通道送水器、双通道钻杆和造穴装置工作灵活稳定且可靠性高,造穴段单孔直接扩大至原常规钻孔孔径的4.4倍,显著提升了瓦斯抽采效果,该技术的成功应用为煤矿井下低透气煤层瓦斯抽采钻孔施工提供了技术支撑。

低透气性煤层高压脉冲射流割缝-压裂增透技术应用研究

针对盘州平关镇大坪煤矿18采区20号煤层复杂地质条件及瓦斯抽采难题,提出一种高压脉冲射流割缝导向压裂增透技术。为验证该技术效果,分析了其增透技术机理,并设计了4种试验方案进行对比分析。结果表明,采用高压脉冲射流割缝导向压裂方案在瓦斯抽采效果方面显著优于其他方法,与普通抽采、高压脉冲射流割缝、高压水力压裂抽采瓦斯相比,其平均每日抽采瓦斯浓度分别提高了3.01倍、1.41倍和1.67倍;平均每日抽采瓦斯纯流量也相应提升了2.86倍、1.42倍和1.62倍。经过90 d的抽采,该方案的抽采影响半径达到了5.06 m,分别为普通抽采、高压脉冲射流割缝和高压水力压裂抽采方案的2.56倍、1.25倍和1.29倍;在抽采效果相同的条件下,钻孔施工时间分别比普通抽采、高压脉冲射流割缝和高压水力压裂方案缩短了60%、32%和20%,瓦斯抽采达标所需时间分别比普通抽采、高压脉冲射流割缝和高压水力压裂方案缩短了70%、50%和62%。高压脉冲射流割缝导向压裂技术对低透气性煤层瓦斯治理效果较为理想,可供类似矿井借鉴。

中国海油低渗及非常规油气藏储层改造技术进展及展望

中国海上低渗及非常规油气开发存在产能低、投资大、操作费用高、收益较低及单井经济任务重等问题。经过技术攻关,中国海油形成了平台压裂、钻井船压裂和拖轮压裂等海上储层改造作业模式,研发出集海上低渗储层改造液体系、海上控水支撑剂技术、低渗储层压裂管柱设计和海上储层改造监测技术为一体的海上低渗储层改造技术,以及适用于陆上深煤层大规模压裂技术。本文综述了中国海上低渗油气储层改造技术及陆上深煤层大规模压裂技术研究进展,展望了未来储层改造重点发展方向,对推动中国海油低渗及非常规油气开发技术进步有重要指导意义。

低渗煤层大直径钻孔瓦斯抽采参数优化研究

针对低渗煤层瓦斯抽采存在预抽难度大的问题,提出大直径钻孔预抽能够降低低渗煤层瓦斯含量的方法。但由于低渗煤层对气固耦合效应影响敏感,抽采中渗透率变化过程不明确,导致大直径钻孔抽采参数设计依据不足。首先分析了低渗煤体渗透率演化的主控因素,建立了煤层瓦斯运移理论模型,模拟研究了大直径钻孔不同工况下对低渗煤体的瓦斯抽采效果,对比分析不同孔径、负压、孔间距下煤层瓦斯渗流规律。结果表明钻孔孔径越大造成的煤体卸压区越大,瓦斯抽采量越高,瓦斯残余含量也越小,但抽采效果增加幅度逐渐降低。负压越大瓦斯抽采量越大,但差别较小,因此负压对提升抽采效率影响较小。受渗透率演化的影响,不同钻孔间距下瓦斯抽采总量差别较大,在间距为3 m时,40~120 d阶段内抽采量最高,后期抽采量缓慢下降。间距5 m时抽采总量最高,抽采范围内的瓦斯残余含量降低较多。现场优化抽采后的瓦斯抽采纯量与模拟结果一致,表明了研究结论可靠。该研究结果可为煤矿井下大直径钻孔瓦斯抽采参数设计提供理论依据与应用参考。

深部高突低渗煤层超高压水力割缝卸压增透技术实践

峰峰集团九龙矿2号煤埋深大,瓦斯含量高,为保证工作面安全回采,开展了瓦斯卸压增透技术的研究。与其他致裂方式相比,超高压水力切缝卸压增透技术的成本低、安全性高,对地质条件的适应性强,是一种理想的低渗煤层增透方式。该技术可破坏钻孔的“瓶塞效应”,促进裂缝的产生、发育和贯通,由此提高透气性,加大煤层中瓦斯的释放。在15249N工作面的现场应用表明,割缝钻孔单刀出煤量0.78 t,等效割缝半径1.89~2.31 m,较普通钻孔瓦斯抽采浓度提升1.6倍,瓦斯抽采纯量提升3.79倍,取得了较好的增透效果。

瓦斯压力对低透性煤吸附-解吸特性及孔隙分布的影响

为了从微观的角度探究瓦斯压力对深部低透性煤层吸附-解吸特性及孔隙分布的影响,采用低磁场核磁共振技术(NMR),开展深部低透性煤不同瓦斯压力下的吸附-解吸试验。试验发现:瓦斯吸附态、游离态和自由态下,T_(2)谱幅值积分与瓦斯压力呈现较好的线性关系,其拟合结果R^(2)均大于0.973 48,微观自由态瓦斯在瓦斯压力等于3.739 MPa处瓦斯的吸附-解吸出现了迟滞效应。不同瓦斯压力下,孔径类型分布差距较大,煤样内部孔隙分布主要是小孔占据大部分,而中孔和大孔所占比列较小。研究结果对深部低透性煤矿资源开采具有一定的指导意义。

基于FLAC^(3D)-COMSOL序贯耦合的钻割煤体三维卸压瓦斯流场数值分析

水力割缝技术通过高压水射流在煤层中构建人工裂隙,可实现低渗煤层的区域性卸荷增透和瓦斯高效抽采。然而,经典的COMSOL软件难以对钻割煤体的三维卸压瓦斯流场进行解算,严重制约了水力割缝技术的工程应用。鉴于此,采用FLAC3D-COMSOL序贯耦合的数值解算方法,以中厚煤层钻割卸荷增透为例,对不同割缝半径、割缝厚度、埋深和割缝方式下钻割煤体的三维卸压瓦斯流场进行了数值分析。结果表明:水力割缝过程中,钻割煤体发生了卸荷损伤,形成了较大范围的圆台形塑性损伤区,煤体渗透率可大幅提高2~3个数量级;随着割缝半径和割缝厚度的增加,煤体的增透范围和瓦斯抽采半径逐渐增大,但在相同出煤量情况下增加割缝半径更有利于中厚煤层的卸荷增透和瓦斯抽采;深部高地应力环境导致煤层初始渗透率下降,但也可提高钻割煤体的增透范围和增透幅度,因此钻孔早期瓦斯抽采效果好,后期抽采效果差,在抽采过程中应尽量增加钻孔密度,缩短抽采周期;割缝方式对中厚煤层的整体卸压瓦斯抽采效果具有显著影响,单缝钻孔平行布置情况下煤层卸压瓦斯抽采效果最好,单缝交错布置情况下次之,而双缝间隔布置情况下最差。

碎软低渗煤层水平井水力喷砂射孔工艺优化

针对碎软低渗煤层水平井煤粉产出危害,提出采用水力喷砂射孔压裂来实现“射孔-增透-控粉”为一体的压裂改造理念,具体工艺包含水力喷砂射孔、高压射流、环空压裂以及水力补射孔清洗。通过成本及工艺对比,选择油管拖动水力喷砂射孔方式进行压裂,并对工艺和关键工具进行优化。首先,优化防反冲蚀破坏一体化硬质合金圆锥收敛型喷嘴,能实现排量2.0~2.5 m3/min时,射流压力为16.5~25.8 MPa。其次,优化喷射器本体,能有效射穿套管、水泥塞,并射入岩石一定深度。配套一体化管柱顺利完成了煤层气U型水平井压裂和补射孔施工各8段,每段射孔时间15 min以上,并充分顶替返排煤粉,投产3年后产气量仍达到3500 m3/d以上,表明优化工艺达到了碎软低渗煤层改造效果。与连续油管分段压裂技术相比,油管拖动水力喷射压裂单段压裂作业成本降低了28.5%。

利用CO_(2)气相压裂技术提高煤层透气性:以吉宁煤矿为例

为破解复杂低渗高瓦斯煤层瓦斯治理技术难题,本文以山西华晋吉宁煤矿2号煤层2203工作面为研究对象,通过采取CO_(2)气相压裂增透技术,对4组(共12个)抽采钻孔的瓦斯抽采浓度和瓦斯抽采纯量进行分析,得出有效致裂影响范围,进一步评价瓦斯抽采效果和防突效果。结果表明:该地质单元的有效致裂裂缝影响范围为6~7 m;常规抽采孔的瓦斯抽采纯量为0.018 m^(3)/min,与其相比,4组抽采钻孔百米瓦斯抽采纯量平均值为0.179 m^(3)/min,提升了8.9倍;在衰减区域,瓦斯抽采浓度均值64.7%、纯量均值0.150 m^(3)/min,在稳定区浓度,瓦斯抽采均值为73.2%、纯量均值0.188 m^(3)/min,相比稳定区域瓦斯抽采参数更高。该技术有效增大了2号煤层的透气性,提高了瓦斯抽采效率和煤巷掘进速度,减少了钻孔施工投入,缓解了采掘接替紧张的局面。