Sedimentology and Paleoenvironmental Characteristics of Fine-grained Sediments in Coal-bearing Strata in the Eastern Ordos Basin:A Case Study of the Exploratory Well in the Zizhou Area

The continuously collected cores from the Permo-Carboniferous coal-bearing strata of the eastern Ordos Basin are essential for studying the hydrocarbon potential in this region.This study adopted sedimentological and geochemical methods to analyze the sedimentary environment,material composition,and geochemical characteristics of the coal-bearing strata.The differences in depositional and paleoclimatic conditions were compared;and the factors influencing the organic matter content of fine-grained sediments were explored.The depositional environment of the Benxi and Jinci formations was lagoon to tidal flat with weakly reduced waters with low salinity and dry-hot paleoclimatic conditions;while that of the Taiyuan Formation was a carbonate platform and shallow water delta front,where the water was highly reductive.The xerothermic climate alternated with the warm and humid climate.The period of maximum transgression in the Permo-Carboniferous has the highest water salinity.The Shanxi Formation was deposited in a shallow water delta front with a brackish and fresh water environment and alternative weak reductiveness.And the paleoclimate condition is dry-hot.The TOC content in fine-grained samples was averaging 1.52%.The main controlling mechanism of organic matter in this area was the input conditions according to the analysis on input and preservation of organic matter.

A numerical investigation of gas flow behavior in two-layered coal seams considering interlayer interference and heterogeneity

Multiple-seam gas coproduction is a technology with potential to achieve economic targets.Physical experiments could replicate gas flow dynamics in two seams.In this study,numerical simulation was conducted based on physical experiments.Through calibration,the simulated results agreed with the experimental results.Three findings were obtained.First,the pressure distribution intrinsically depends on the depressurization effectiveness in each coal seam.The gas pressure difference and interval distance influence the pressure distribution by inhibiting depressurization in the top seams and bottom seams,respectively.Second,the production contribution shows a logarithmic relationship with the permeability ratio.The range of the production contribution difference grows from 11.24%to 99.99%when the permeability ratio increases 50 times.By comparison,reservoir pressure has a limited influence,with a maximum of 13.64%.Third,the interlayer interference of the top seams and bottom seams can be intensified by the reservoir pressure difference and the interval distance,respectively.The proposed model has been calibrated and verified and can be directly applied to engineering,serving as a reference for reservoir combination optimization.In summary,coal seams with a permeability ratio within 10,reservoir pressure difference within 1.50 MPa,and interval distances within 50 m are recommended to coproduce together.

Experimental and numerical study of coal mechanical properties during coalification jumps

The mechanical characteristics of coal reservoirs are important parameters in the hydraulic fracturing of coal.In this study,coal samples of different ranks were collected from 12 coal mines located in Xinjiang and Shanxi,China.The coal ranks were identified with by the increased Maximum vitrine reflectance(Ro,max)value.The triaxial compression experiments were performed to determine the confining pressure effect on the mechanical properties of coal samples of different ranks.The numerical approaches,including the power function,arctangent,and exponential function models,were used to find the correlation between coal elastic modulus and the confining pressure.The fitting equations of compressive strength and elastic modulus of coal ranks were constructed under different confining pressures.The results showed that the coal compressive strength of different ranks has a positive linear correlation with the confining pressure.The coal elastic modulus and confining pressure showed an exponential function.Poisson’s ratio of coal and confining pressure show negative logarithmic function.The stress sensitivity of the coal elastic modulus decreases with the increase of confining pressure.The coalification jump identifies that the compressive strength,elastic modulus,and stress sensitivity coefficient of coal have a polynomial relationship with the increase of coal ranks.The inflection points in coalification at Ro,max=0.70%,1.30%,and 2.40%,are the first,second,and third coalification jumps.These findings provide significant support to coal fracturing during CBM production.

Geochemistry of rare earth elements and yttrium in Late Permian coals from the Zhongliangshan coalfield, southwestern China

Rare earth elements and yttrium(REY)in coal deposits are considered promising alternative sources for these resources owing to their increasing global demand.This paper reports the geochemical characteristics of REY in the Late Permian coals from an underground K1a seam section of the Zhongliangshan coalfield in Chongqing,southwestern China.The mineralogy,degree of enrichment,distribution patterns,modes of occurrence,and sediment origin of REY were investigated.Compared with the average of world coals,the concentration of REY in the K1a coals were normal,dominated by light REY(LREY),with less medium and heavy REY(MREY,HREY).The fractionation degree of the MREY and HREY are higher than that of LREY in most K1a coal samples,deduced from the mixed enrichment type of REY,mainly including M-H-type,and a few L-M type and H-type.In addition,the combination of anomalies of Ce,Eu,Gd,and Al_(2)O_(3)/TiO_(2) parameters,the terrigenous materials in the K1a coal were derived from the felsic-intermediate rocks at the top of the Emeishan basalt sequence,and the samples were affected by seawater intrusion during early peat accumulation.Although the minerals primarily consist of kaolinite,illite,pyrite,and small amounts of quartz,calcite and anatase,REY are correlated with ash yield,SiO2,and Al_(2)O_(3),revealing that the REY mainly occur in aluminosilicate minerals,especially kaolinite and illite.Meanwhile,REY positively relate to P_(2)O_(5) and Zr,which may exist in phosphate-containing minerals or zircon.Furthermore,most samples in the K1a coal or ash do not reach the cut-off grade for the beneficial recovery of REY.With the exception of central Guizhou,southwestern Chongqing,and the junction of western Guizhou and northeastern Yunnan,the REY content in coals from southwestern China are high,and its by-products are suitable as potential REY sources.

Biogenic gas generation effects on anthracite molecular structure and pore structure

This study carries out a simulated experiment of biogenic gas generation and studies the effects of gas generation on the pore structure and molecular structure of anthracite by mercury intrusion porosimetry,X-ray diffraction(XRD)and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy(FT-IR).The results show that methanogenic bacteria can produce biogenic gas from anthracite.CO_(2) and CH4 are the main components of the generated biogas.After generation,some micropores(<10 nm)and transitional pores(10–100 nm)in the coal samples transform into large pores.In the high-pressure stage(pressure>100 MPa)of the mercury intrusion test,the specific surface area decreases by 19.79%compared with that of raw coal,and the pore volume increases by 7.25%in total.Microbial action on the molecular structure causes changes in the pore reconstruction.The FT-IR data show that the side chains and hydroxyl groups of the coal molecular structure in coal are easily metabolized by methanogenic bacteria and partially oxidized to form carboxylic acids.In addition,based on the XRD data,the aromatic lamellar structure in the coal is changed by microorganisms;it decreases in lateral size(La)and stacking thickness(Lc).This study enriches the theory of biogenic coalbed gas generation and provides a pathway for enhancing the permeability of high-rank coal reservoirs.