Investigation on the mechanism of micro-cracks generated by microwave heating in coal and rock

Wenjian Lan, Hanxiang Wang, Xin Zhang, Hongbo Fan, Kun Feng, Yanxin Liu and Bingyu Sun

Energy, 2020, vol. 206, issue C

Abstract: In the coalbed methane (CBM) exploration and development, microwave treatment technology can be used to improve the reservoir permeability and enhance coalbed methane recovery. In this paper, the mechanism of microwave heating on micro-cracks in coal and rock is studied. And to research the interactions between microwave and coal, a mathematical model of electromagnetic field and heat transfer in solid coupling is established. Combined with numerical simulation and experimental research, the electromagnetic field distribution and the temperature changing law in coal samples collected from Ordos basin of China during microwave heating process are analyzed. Through the comparisons of appearance identification and internal CT scanning before and after microwave treatment, there are a large number of obvious cracks generated by microwave heating on the surface and inside of coal samples. Three main generation mechanisms of micro-cracks in coal and rock are obtained by SEM analysis. Finally, a new microwave heating technology for CBM recovery is proposed and the structure of waveguide antennas (coaxial) for heating is designed. The simulation results show that the reservoir temperature has been greatly improved and the temperature change rates in the top half of the reservoir are larger which can easily cause the generation of micro-cracks.

Keywords: Coal and rock; Microwave heating; Micro-crack; Coalbed methane (CBM); Permeability (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (10)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:energy:v:206:y:2020:i:c:s0360544220313189

DOI: 10.1016/j.energy.2020.118211

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