Skip to main navigation Skip to search Skip to main content

Brittleness evolution of different rank coals under the effects of cyclic liquid CO2 during the coalbed methane recovery process

Cheng Zhai, Jizhao Xu, Shuxun Sang, P. G. Ranjith, Xu Yu, Yong Sun, Yuzhou Cong, Wei Tang, Yangfeng Zheng

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleResearchpeer-review

Abstract

The understanding of brittleness evolution for coals influenced by cyclic liquid CO2 effects has great significance to evaluate the crack capacity of the matrix. A brittleness index (B) calculation model was established on the basis of the statistical damage constitutive equation and the stress−strain curves, without considering their primary curve patterns, that was mainly controlled by elastic modulus (E), compressive strength (σc), and the corresponding strain (εc). Three different rank coals were processed under the temperature effect and the temperature and adsorption coupling effect that originated from cyclic liquid CO2 and then were destroyed by the uniaxial compression test. With the increasing liquid CO2 parameters [cyclic number (CN) and total cyclic time (TCT)], the σc of the different rank coals decreased gradually, while the εc did not have an apparent change tendency that was greatly influenced by the coal anisotropy (the nonuniform deformation responses to the temperature effect and the primary crack complexity) and the capacity of CO2 adsorption decreasing the free surface energy. The B values of lignite and bitumite showed a declining trend, while those of anthracite did not have obvious laws, because of the lack of laws for εc. The relationships between B and CN/TCT indicated that the larger the cyclic parameters, the smaller the B values and the greater the coal destruction degree. The E and σc had positive relationships with the B calculations, while the Poisson's ratio (μ), damage variable (Dv), and accumulated energy (J) did not have obvious correlations with the B values. The introduction of liquid CO2 induced a huge number of unrecoverable deformations and fatigue damages to be generated, leading to a large plastic region and decreasing the coal brittleness. The results might be helpful to evaluate the capacity of liquid CO2 fracturing and to estimate the efficiency of coalbed methane recovery.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)17651-17662
Number of pages12
JournalEnergy & Fuels
Volume35
Issue number21
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 4 Nov 2021

Cite this