Effect of moisture on the desorption and unsteady-state diffusion properties of gas in low-rank coal

Currently, resource integration in coal-burning facilities and clean energy reconstruction are being strongly pushed forward in China. As a clean fossil energy, unconventional natural gas, such as coalbed methane (CBM), exhibits promise as an energy development strategy. In China, there are abundant CBM resources in the considerable reserves of low-rank coal. Therefore, the study of low-rank coal is the key to realize the high-yield and high-efficiency development of CBM resources in China. In this paper, a new water injection device was designed to prepare coal samples with a variety of moisture contents, and a novel method to measure the gas desorption properties in coal containing water was introduced. On this basis, the gas desorption law in low-rank coal with different moisture contents was tested, and the effect of moisture on the gas diffusion properties in low-rank coal was analyzed. The results indicate that the initial gas desorption volume of low-rank coal is extremely large and that the gas desorption law in the moisture-containing low-rank coal can be described by Airey's empirical equation. It is also observed that the ultimate gas desorption volume, initial gas desorption rate and initial effective gas diffusion coefficient all shift toward the direction that is beneficial to CBM development. Therefore, reducing the moisture content in low-rank coals through certain techniques can dramatically enhance the gas migration behavior and achieve the purpose of high-yield CBM development.