Minireview on Lattice Boltzmann Modeling of Gas Flow and Adsorption in Shale Porous Media: Progress and Future Direction

Abstract

As an important unconventional resource, shale gas reservoirs have unique characteristics different from conventional oil and gas reservoirs. The ultrasmall pore sizes in shale induce the nanopore confinement effect on shale gas flow. In addition, shale rocks are rich in organic matter, which has strong interactions with gas molecules and results in gas adsorption. The lattice Boltzmann method (LBM) for micro- and nanoscale gas flow, which is originally designed for micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS), has been modified to simulate gas flow and adsorption in shale rocks. This work reviews four types of lattice Boltzmann models developed recently for shale gas flow/adsorption: (1) the slip-velocity-based LBM, (2) high-order LBM, (3) diffusion-based LBM, and (4) REV-scale LBM. Among these models, the slip-velocity-based LBM is widely used for shale gas modeling, which incorporates the slip boundary condition and Knudsen number (Kn)-determined relaxation time to simulate the nanopore confinement effect. To model the gas adsorption, the fluid–solid interaction force is introduced into the model, and the magnitude of this interaction force is usually obtained from the molecular level simulations. LBMs have been regarded as an efficient numerical tool to estimate the shale gas apparent permeability, to describe the pore-scale flow behaviors, and to address the influence of gas adsorption on shale gas storage and transport. Nevertheless, some challenges exist in current applications of LBMs for shale gas flow and adsorption simulations that are discussed in this minireview as well.