Pore-scale modeling of pore structure properties and wettability effect on permeability of low-rank coal

Permeability is a key parameter for coalbed methane development.Although the absolute permeability of coal has been extensively studied,wettability and pore structure properties continue to challenge the microscopic description of water-gas flow in coal.For this purpose,we reconstructed the microstructures of low-rank coal using micro-computed tomography(micro-CT)images.Pore geometry and pore-throat parameters are introduced to establish a relationship with absolute permeability.A dual-porosity pore network model is developed to study water-gas displacement under different wetting and pore structure properties.Results show that absolute permeability is significantly affected by pore geometry and can be described using a binary quadratic function of porosity and fractal dimension.Water-gas relative permeability varies significantly and the residual gas saturation is lower;the crossover saturation first decreased and then increased with increasing porosity under hydrophobic conditions.While the water relative permeability is lower and a certain amount of gas is trapped in complex pore-throat networks;the crossover saturation is higher under hydrophilic conditions.Models with large percolating porosity and well-developed pore networks have high displacement efficiency due to low capillary resistance and avoidance of trapping.This work provides a systematic description of absolute permeability and water-gas relative permeability in coal microstructure for enhanced gas recovery.

Role of Ni(NO_3)_2 in the preparation of a magnetic coal-based activated carbon

The role of Nil（NO3）2 in the preparation of a magnetic activated carbon is reported in this paper. Magnetic coal-based activated carbons （MCAC） were prepared from Taixi anthracite with low ash content in the presence of Ni（NO3）2. The MCAC materials were characterized by a vibrating sample magnetometer （VSM）, X-ray diffraction （XRD）, a scanning electric microscope （SEM）, and by N2 adsorption. The cylindri- cal precursors and derived char were also subjected to thermogravimetric analysis to compare their behavior of weight losses during carbonization. The results show that MCAC has a larger surface area （1074 m21g） and a higher pore volume （0.5792 cm3/g） with enhanced mesopore ratio （by about 10~）. It also has a high saturation magnetization （1.6749 emu/g） and low coercivity （43.26 Oe）, which allows the material to be magnetically separated. The MCAC is easily magnetized because the nickel salt is con- vetted into Ni during carbonization and activation. Metallic Ni has a strong magnetism on account of electrostatic interaction. Added Ni（NO3）2 catalyzes the carbonization and activation process by accelerat- ing burn off of the carbon, which contributes to the development of mesopores and macropores in the activated carbon.