Effects of supercritical CO2 exposure on diffusion and adsorption kinetics of CH4, CO2 and water vapor in various rank coals

Abstract

The physico-chemical effects caused by supercritical CO2 (ScCO2) exposure is one of the leading problems for CO2 storage in deep coal seams as it will significantly alter the flow behaviors of gases. The main objective of this study was to investigate the effects of ScCO2 injection on diffusion and adsorption kinetics of CH4, CO2 and water vapor in various rank coals. The powdered coal samples were immersed in ScCO2 for 30 days using a high-pressure sealed reactor. Then, the diffusion and adsorption kinetics of CH4, CO2 and water vapor in the coals both before and after exposure were examined. Results indicate that the diffusivities of CH4 and CO2 are significantly increased due to the combined matrix swelling and solvent effect caused by ScCO2 exposure, which may induce secondary faults and remove some volatile matters that block the pore throats. On the other hand, the diffusivities of water vapor are reduced due to the elimination of surface functional groups with ScCO2 exposure. It is concluded that density of the surface function groups is the controlling factor for water vapor diffusion rather than the pore properties. The unipore model and pseudo-first-order equation can simulate the diffusion and adsorption kinetics of CH4 and CO2 very well, but the unipore model is not capable of well describing water vapor diffusion. The effective diffusivity (De), diffusion coefficient (D) and adsorption rates (k1) of CH4 and CO2 are significantly increased after ScCO2 exposure, while the values of water vapor are decreased notably. Thus, the injection of ScCO2 will efficiently improve the transport properties of CH4 and CO2 but hinder the movement of water molecules in coal seams.