Interpretation of carbon dioxide diffusion behavior in coals

Storage of carbon dioxide in geological formations is for many countries one of the options to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and thus to satisfy the Kyoto agreements. The CO2 storage in unminable coal seams has the advantage that it stores CO2 emissions from industrial processes and can be used to enhance coalbed methane recovery (CO2-ECBM). For this purpose, the storage capacity of coal is an important reservoir parameter. While the amount of CO2 sorption data on various natural coals has increased in recent years, only few measurements have been performed to estimate the rate of CO2 sorption under reservoir conditions. An understanding of gas transport is crucial for processes associated with CO2 injection, storage and enhanced coalbed methane (ECBM) production.A volumetric experimental set-up has been used to determine the rate of sorption of carbon dioxide in coal particles at various pressures and various grain size fractions. The pressure history during each pressure step was measured. The measurements are interpreted in terms of temperature relaxation and transport/sorption processes within the coal particles. The characteristic times of sorption increase with increasing pressure. No clear dependence of the characteristic time with respect to the particle size was found. At low pressures (below 1 MPa) fast gas diffusion is the prevailing mechanism for sorption, whereas at higher pressures, the slow diffusion process controls the gas uptake by the coal.