Article: Gas reservoir simulation for enhanced gas recovery with nitrogen injection in low permeability coal seams Journal: International Journal of Oil, Gas and Coal Technology (IJOGCT) 2015 Vol.10 No.3 pp.272 - 292 Abstract: Gas drainage is an integrated strategy in mining gassy seams to establish a safe mining environment. A range of properties and operational conditions affect the performance of enhanced gas drainage process using a stimulating gas. The micro-structures of a coal sample from an Australian gassy coal mine were analysed using field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM). Results show that the micro-fissures between the matrixes are extremely narrow and tight thus contributing to hard-to-drain problems. A gas reservoir simulator was used to investigate the key parameters in gas drainage processes involving the injection of nitrogen. Simulation results show that methane content was reduced from 11.9 m3/t to less than 6.6 m3/t, and the methane recovery rate was greater than 78% within a gas drainage lead time of 180 days. The paper concluded that enhanced gas drainage with nitrogen injection is a promising strategy for extracting methane from low permeability gas reservoirs. [Received: September 17, 2013; Accepted: March 8, 2014] Inderscience Publishers - linking academia, business and industry through research

Title: Gas reservoir simulation for enhanced gas recovery with nitrogen injection in low permeability coal seams

Authors: Ting Ren; Fang Tian Wang

Addresses: School of Civil, Mining and Environmental Engineering, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW 2522, Australia ' School of Mines, Key Laboratory of Deep Coal Resource Mining (Ministry of Education of China), State Key Laboratory of Coal Resources and Mine Safety, China University of Mining and Technology, Xuzhou, Jiangsu 221116, China

Abstract: Gas drainage is an integrated strategy in mining gassy seams to establish a safe mining environment. A range of properties and operational conditions affect the performance of enhanced gas drainage process using a stimulating gas. The micro-structures of a coal sample from an Australian gassy coal mine were analysed using field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM). Results show that the micro-fissures between the matrixes are extremely narrow and tight thus contributing to hard-to-drain problems. A gas reservoir simulator was used to investigate the key parameters in gas drainage processes involving the injection of nitrogen. Simulation results show that methane content was reduced from 11.9 m³/t to less than 6.6 m³/t, and the methane recovery rate was greater than 78% within a gas drainage lead time of 180 days. The paper concluded that enhanced gas drainage with nitrogen injection is a promising strategy for extracting methane from low permeability gas reservoirs. [Received: September 17, 2013; Accepted: March 8, 2014]

Keywords: enhanced gas recovery; EGR; coal seam gas; gas reservoirs; reservoir simulation; nitrogen injection; underground to in-seam boreholes; low permeability coal seams; gas drainage; mine safety; microstructure; Australia; gassy coal mines; microfissures; methane recovery rate.

DOI: 10.1504/IJOGCT.2015.071514

International Journal of Oil, Gas and Coal Technology, 2015 Vol.10 No.3, pp.272 - 292

Received: 08 Oct 2013
Accepted: 08 Mar 2014
Published online: 31 Aug 2015 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article

Title: Gas reservoir simulation for enhanced gas recovery with nitrogen injection in low permeability coal seams

Keep up-to-date