Fractal characteristics of pore structures on different coal structures and its research significance

The occurrence and production of coalbed methane is related to the development degree of pore system in coal reservoirs. The pore structure characteristics of original structural coal seam will change significantly after damage and deformation, thus affecting the adsorption/desorption and diffusion process of coalbed methane. Through the low-temperature liquid N2 and low-pressure CO₂ adsorption analysis and isothermal adsorption experiments on coal with different structures from the No. 3 coal seam in Zhaozhuang coalfield in Qinshui Basin, the variation laws of pore structure and adsorption of coals with various destructive strengths were analyzed. Applying experimental data and numerical fractal modeling, the pore fractal characteristics of coal with different structures and their effects on methane adsorption and diffusion in coal were revealed. The results shown that with the increase of the destructive intensity of coal structures, the specific surface area and pore volume of coal increased, the proportion of 50-300 nm pores gradually decreased, the micropores and mesopores of 2-50 nm and ultra-micropores of less than 2 nm increased. As the main adsorption pores in coal, the ultra-micropores size was mainly distributed in 0.45-0.65 nm and 0.80-1.0 nm. The adsorption amount of N₂, CO₂ and CH₄ increased with the increasing destructive degree of coal structure. The order of adsorption capacity from large to small was: intact coal>mylonitic coal > granulated coal > cataclastic coal. The fractal dimensions of the micro-, meso- and macro-porous structures indicated that the pore structure of tectonically deformed coals will be simplified. Coal with a higher damage intensity had a rougher pore surface (corresponding to a higherD₁) and a more homogeneous pore size distribution (corresponding to a lowerD₂). The fractal dimension of ultra-microporous (D_m) gradually increased with the increasing structural destruction intensity of coal, and was positively correlated with Langmuir constant (V_L) and the corresponding specific surface area, indicating that the increase of coal surface roughness led to the increase of specific surface area, which provided more adsorption points with high adsorption potential for gas adsorption and enhanced the adsorption capacity of coal. The effective diffusion coefficient and pore volume were positively correlated with the fractal dimensionsD₁ and negatively correlated withD₂, which indicated better pore connectivity, increased pore volume, improved gas inlet and outlet efficiency, and enhanced gas diffusion efficiency of destroyed intact coal.