Title: Experimental investigation on shale gas transport characteristics in nanopores under high temperature and high pressure

Authors: Jing Sun; Dehua Liu; Xiang Zhu; Wenjun Huang; Liang Chen

Addresses: Petroleum Engineering College, Yangtze University, Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China; Hubei Cooperative Innovation Center of Unconventional Oil and Gas, Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China; Hubei Shale Gas Development Engineering Technology Research Center, Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China ' Petroleum Engineering College, Yangtze University, Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China; Hubei Cooperative Innovation Center of Unconventional Oil and Gas, Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China; Hubei Shale Gas Development Engineering Technology Research Center, Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China ' Petroleum Engineering College, Yangtze University, Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China; Hubei Cooperative Innovation Center of Unconventional Oil and Gas, Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China; Hubei Shale Gas Development Engineering Technology Research Center, Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China ' Petroleum Engineering College, Yangtze University, Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China; Hubei Cooperative Innovation Center of Unconventional Oil and Gas, Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China; Hubei Shale Gas Development Engineering Technology Research Center, Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China ' Petroleum Engineering College, Yangtze University, Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China; Hubei Cooperative Innovation Center of Unconventional Oil and Gas, Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China; Hubei Shale Gas Development Engineering Technology Research Center, Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China

Abstract: In this paper, we carried-out shale gas diffusion behaviour experiments under high temperature and pressure conditions (HPHT). Molecular membranes samples with a uniform pore size replacing shale cores are used in this experiment for the first time. The results show that: 1) the equation of shale gas diffusion coefficient and pore size was established. As the pore diameter increases, the diffusion coefficient increases exponentially. 2) The concentration gradient of shale gas in a nanoporous medium also has an impact on the diffusion capacity. 3) The greater the pressure, the smaller the diffusion coefficient in the confined pores. The diffusion coefficient increases as the temperature increases. 4) A new diffusion coefficient calculation method was proposed. The results provide theoretical guidance for the microscopic transport mechanism of methane transfer in the porous media of shale gas and tight sandstone reservoirs. [Received: 8 October 2019; Accepted: 13 December 2019]

Keywords: shale gas; nanopores; diffusion behaviour; transport characteristics.

DOI: 10.1504/IJOGCT.2021.113137

International Journal of Oil, Gas and Coal Technology, 2021 Vol.26 No.3, pp.302 - 325

Received: 08 Oct 2019
Accepted: 13 Dec 2019
Published online: 22 Feb 2021 *

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