Coalbed methane: A review

The topic of global warming as a result of increased atmospheric CO2 concentration is arguably the most important environmental issue that the world faces today. It is a global problem that will need to be solved on a global level. The link between anthropogenic emissions of CO2 with increased atmospheric CO2 levels and, in turn, with increased global temperatures has been well established and accepted by the world. International organizations such as the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) have been formed to address this issue. Three options are being explored to stabilize atmospheric levels of greenhouse gases (GHGs) and global temperatures without severely and negatively impacting standard of living: (1) increasing energy efficiency, (2) switching to less carbon-intensive sources of energy, and (3) carbon sequestration. To be successful, all three options must be used in concert. The third option is the subject of this review. Specifically, this review will cover the capture and geologic sequestration of CO2 generated from large point sources, namely fossil-fuel-fired power gasification plants. Sequestration of CO2 in geological formations is necessary to meet the President's Global Climate Change Initiative target of an 18% reduction in GHG intensity by 2012. Further, the best strategy to stabilize the atmospheric concentration of CO2 results from a multifaceted approach where sequestration of CO2 into geological formations is combined with increased efficiency in electric power generation and utilization, increased conservation, increased use of lower carbon-intensity fuels, and increased use of nuclear energy and renewables. This review covers the separation and capture of CO2 from both flue gas and fuel gas using wet scrubbing technologies, dry regenerable sorbents, membranes, cryogenics, pressure and temperature swing adsorption, and other advanced concepts. Existing commercial CO2 capture facilities at electric power-generating stations based on the use of monoethanolamine are described, as is the Rectisol process used by Dakota Gasification to separate and capture CO2 from a coal gasifier. Two technologies for storage of the captured CO2 are reviewed--sequestration in deep unmineable coalbeds with concomitant recovery of CH4 and sequestration in deep saline aquifers. Key issues for both of these techniques include estimating the potential storage capacity, the storage integrity, and the physical and chemical processes that are initiated by injecting CO2 underground. Recent studies using computer modeling as well as laboratory and field experimentation are presented here. In addition, several projects have been initiated in which CO2 is injected into a deep coal seam or saline aquifer. The current status of several such projects is discussed. Included is a commercial-scale project in which a million tons of CO2 are injected annually into an aquifer under the North Sea in Norway. The review makes the case that this can all be accomplished safely with off-the-shelf technologies. However, substantial research and development must be performed to reduce the cost, decrease the risks, and increase the safety of sequestration technologies. This review also includes discussion of possible problems related to deep injection of CO2. There are safety concerns that need to be addressed because of the possibilities of leakage to the surface and induced seismic activity. These issues are presented along with a case study of a similar incident in the past. It is clear that monitoring and verification of storage will be a crucial part of all geological sequestration practices so that such problems may be avoided. Available techniques include direct measurement of CO2 and CH4 surface soil fluxes, the use of chemical tracers, and underground 4-D seismic monitoring. Ten new hypotheses were formulated to describe what happens when CO2 is pumped into a coal seam. These hypotheses provide significant insight into the fundamental chemical, physical, and thermodynamic phenomena that occur during coal seam sequestration of CO2.

Separation and Capture of CO2 from Large Stationary Sources and Sequestration in Geological Formations—Coalbeds and Deep Saline Aquifers

Modelling permeability for coal reservoirs: A review of analytical models and testing data

The permeability of deep (1000 m; 3300 ft) coal seams is commonly low. For deep coal seams, significant reservoir pressure drawdown is required to promote gas desorption because of the Langmuir-type isotherm that typifies coals. Hence, a large permeability decline may occur because of pressure drawdown and the resulting increase in effective stress, depending on coal properties and the stress field during production. However, the permeability decline can potentially be offset by the permeability enhancement caused by the matrix shrinkage associated with methane desorption. The predictability of varying permeability is critical for coalbed gas exploration and production-well management. We have investigated quantitatively the effects of reservoir pressure and sorption-induced volumetric strain on coal-seam permeability with constraints from the adsorption isotherm and associated volumetric strain measured on a Cretaceous Mesaverde Group coal (Piceance basin) and derived a stress-dependent permeability model. Our results suggest that the favorable coal properties that can result in less permeability reduction during earlier production and an earlier strong permeability rebound (increase in permeability caused by coal shrinkage) with methane desorption include (1) large bulk or Young's modulus; (2) large adsorption or Langmuir volume; (3) high Langmuir pressure; (4) high initial permeability and dense cleat spacing; and (5) low initial reservoir pressure and high in-situ gas content. Permeability variation with gas production is further dependent on the orientation of the coal seam, the reservoir stress field, and the cleat structure. Well completion with injection of N2 and displacement of CH4 only results in short-term enhancement of permeability and does not promote the overall gas production for the coal studied.

Volumetric strain associated with methane desorption and its impact on coalbed gas production from deep coal seams

Triaxial compression experiments were conducted to investigate influences of stress and failure mode on axial permeability of five sandstones with porosities ranging from 15% to 35%. In the cataclastic flow regime, permeability and porosity changes closely track one another. A drastic decrease in permeability was triggered by the onset of shear-enhanced compaction caused by grain crushing and pore collapse. The compactive yield stress C* maps out a boundary in stress space separating two different types of permeability evolution. Before C* is attained, permeability and porosity both decrease with increasing effective mean stress, but they are independent of deviatoric stresses. However, with loading beyond C*, both permeability and porosity changes are strongly dependent on the deviatoric and effective mean stresses. In the brittle faulting regime, permeability and porosity changes are more complex. Before the onset of shear-induced dilation C', both permeability and porosity decrease with increasing effective mean stress. Beyond C', permeability may actually decrease in a dilating rock prior to brittle failure. After the peak stress has been attained, the development of a relatively impermeable shear band causes an accelerated decrease of permeability. Permeability evolution in porous sandstones is compared with that in low-porosity crystalline rocks. A conceptual model for the coupling of deformation and fluid transport is proposed in the form of a deformation-permeability map.

https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1029/96JB03282

W.H. Somerton

Papers

Effect of stress on permeability of coal