Coupled Effects of Stress, Moisture Content and Gas Pressure on the Permeability Evolution of Coal Samples: A Case Study of the Coking Coal Resourced from Tunlan Coalmine

Deep coalbed methane (CBM) is widely distributed in China and is mainly commercially exploited in the Qinshui basin. The in situ stress and moisture content are key factors affecting the permeability of CH<sub>4</sub>-containing coal samples. Therefore, considering the coupled effects of...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Guofu Li, Yi Wang, Junhui Wang, Hongwei Zhang, Wenbin Shen, Han Jiang
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2021-06-01
Series:Water
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/13/12/1653
Description
Summary:Deep coalbed methane (CBM) is widely distributed in China and is mainly commercially exploited in the Qinshui basin. The in situ stress and moisture content are key factors affecting the permeability of CH<sub>4</sub>-containing coal samples. Therefore, considering the coupled effects of compressing and infiltrating on the gas permeability of coal could be more accurate to reveal the CH<sub>4</sub> gas seepage characteristics in CBM reservoirs. In this study, coal samples sourced from Tunlan coalmine were employed to conduct the triaxial loading and gas seepage tests. Several findings were concluded: (1) In this triaxial test, the effect of confining stress on the permeability of gas-containing coal samples is greater than that of axial stress. (2) The permeability versus gas pressure curve of coal presents a ‘V’ shape evolution trend, in which the minimum gas permeability was obtained at a gas pressure of 1.1MPa. (3) The gas permeability of coal samples decreased exponentially with increasing moisture content. Specifically, as the moisture content increasing from 0.18% to 3.15%, the gas permeability decreased by about 70%. These results are expected to provide a foundation for the efficient exploitation of CBM in Qinshui basin.
ISSN:2073-4441