Numerical analysis of permeability rebound and recovery during coalbed methane extraction: Implications for CO2 injection methods

Abstract

The coal’s permeability plays a crucial role in coalbed methane (CBM) extraction and coal seam CO2 sequestration. An accurate understanding of permeability rebound and recovery is therefore essential. This study establishes an improved fully coupled gas migration model for CBM extraction. The permeability rebound and recovery times as well as rebound values are proposed to accurately quantify permeability evolution during CBM extraction. The evolution of these three parameters under the influence of different factors are evaluated in detail, such as initial gas pressure, the diffusion coefficient, and the permeability. The results show that the permeability rebound and recovery times increase along with initial gas pressure and the amount over time rises rapidly under high gas pressures. As the initial gas pressure increases, the permeability rebound value decreases. However, initial diffusion coefficient and permeability have a negative trend in permeability rebound, recovery time, and rebound value. These tendencies are particularly large for low initial permeabilities and diffusion coefficients, yet the change in rebound time is smaller than the one in recovery time. Finally, inspired by the relationship between permeability rebound and gas pressure change during CBM extraction, the evolution of coal seam permeability under different CO2 injection method is discussed. A stepwise increasing-pressure CO2 injection method is also proposed, which could effectively increase the volume of CO2 sequestered and reduce project costs. Therefore, our findings shall shed light on improving coal mine safety production and reducing greenhouse gas emission.