Adsorption and desorption on coals for CO2 sequestration

Adsorption and desorption of carbon dioxide, methane and other gases on coals has been investigated experimentally using representative Zhongliangshan coals. Gas adsorption is one of the major concerns for both CO2 sequestration and methane recovery processes. The experiments were carried out using both single and multi-component mixtures at 25 °C and 30 °C with the highest pressure of 12 MPa. The coal was under moisture equilibrated conditions. This provides experimental data from which a predictive assessment of CO2 sequestration and/or methane recovery can be conducted. The results show that for pure gasses the CH4 adsorption capacity is higher than the N2 adsorption capacity but lower than the CO2 adsorption capacity. Injection of CO2 or other gases into the coal significantly affects CH4 desorption. This allows the enhancement of CH4 recovery from the coals, thus supplying more clean energy while sequestering significant amounts of CO2 thereby reducing the greenhouse effect from human beings.