Tectonically deformed coal types and pore structures in Puhe and Shanchahe coal mines in western Guizhou

To evaluate the effect of tectonic deformation on coal reservoir properties, we provide an analysis of the types of tectonically deformed coal, macro- and microscopic deformation and discuss pore structural characteristics and connectivity based on samples from the Puhe and Shanchahe coal mines. Our research shows that the tectonically deformed coal mostly includes cataclastic structural coal, mortar structural coal and schistose structural coal of a brittle deformation series. The major pore structures of different types of tectonically deformed coal are transitional pores and micropores. The pore volumes of macropores and visible fracture pores produced by structural deformations vary over a large range and increase with the intensity of tectonic deformation. Mesopores as connecting passages develop well in schistose structural coal. According to the shapes of intrusive mercury curves, tectonically deformed coal can be divided into parallel, open and occluded types. The parallel type has poor connectivity and is relatively closed; the open type reflects uniformly developed open pores with good connectivity while the occluded type is good for coalbed methane enrichment, but has poor connectivity between pores.