Effects of Adsorbed Gases on the Physical and Transport Properties of Low-Rank Coal, PRB, WY: Implications for Carbon Sequestration and Enhanced Coalbed Methane Recovery

When CO2 is injected into unminable coalbeds, it has the potential to enhance the amount of methane production (ECBM) and to geologically sequester CO2 as an adsorbed phase. In this study we study the effects of adsorption of He, N2, CH4 and CO2, on the mechanical and flow properties of sub-bituminous coal from the Powder River Basin (PRB) on both intact and crushed samples. The coal samples were vacuum dried before each test, then saturated by each test gas at a series of either increasing pore pressure or increasing effective stress until steady state was reached. Thus, the amount of adsorption can be measured as a function of pore pressure Permeability was measured as a function of effective stress. Preliminary results show that the adsorption of CO2 is twice as large as CH4, and almost four times that of N2. Hysteresis is observed among pure component adsorption and desorption isotherms which are characterized Langmuir-type adsorption isotherms. Permeability decreases with increasing effective stress for He, CH4 and CO2. At constant effective stress, permeability decreases when the saturating gas changes from He to CH4 and CO2. Hysteresis of permeability with increasing and decreasing effective stress is not observed in crushed samples. The coal swells when CH4 displaces He and swells more when CO2 displaces He. Viscoplastic creep behavior is observed in the presence of CH4 and CO2 with both intact and crushed samples, which may affect maintaining permeability for long-term CO2 injection. Adsorption Isotherm of Crushed Coal Sample, WY

Permeability as a function of effective stress with different gas saturation