An improved permeability model of coal for coalbed methane recovery and CO2 geosequestration

An alternative approach is proposed to develop an improved permeability model for coalbed methane (CBM) and CO2-enhanced CBM (ECBM) recovery, and CO2 geosequestration in coal. This approach integrates the textural and mechanical properties to describe the anisotropy of gas permeability in coal reservoirs. The model accounts for the stress dependent deformation using a stress-strain correlation, which allows determination of directional permeability for coals. The stress-strain correlation was developed by combining mechanical strain with sorption-induced strain for any given direction. The mechanical strain of coal is described by the general thermo-poro-elastic constitutive equations for solid materials under isothermal conditions and the sorption-induced strain is approximated by treating the swelling/shrinkage of coal matrix equivalent to the thermal contraction/expansion of materials. With directional strains, the permeability of coal in any given direction can be modeled based on the theory of rock hydraulics. In this study, the proposed model was tested with both literature data and experiments. The experiments were carried out using a specially designed true tri-axial stress coal permeameter (TTSCP). The results show that the proposed model provides better predictions for the literature data compared with other conventional coal permeability models. The model also gives reasonable agreement between the predicted and measured stress-strains and directional permeabilities under laboratory conditions.