Laboratory Measurements of the Relative Permeability of Coal: A Review

Shaicheng Shen, Zhiming Fang and Xiaochun Li
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Shaicheng Shen: State Key Laboratory of Geomechanics and Geotechnical Engineering, Institute of Rock and Soil Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430071, China
Zhiming Fang: State Key Laboratory of Geomechanics and Geotechnical Engineering, Institute of Rock and Soil Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430071, China
Xiaochun Li: State Key Laboratory of Geomechanics and Geotechnical Engineering, Institute of Rock and Soil Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430071, China

Energies, 2020, vol. 13, issue 21, 1-24

Abstract: The relative permeability of coal to gas and water is an essential parameter for characterizing coalbed methane (CBM) reservoirs and predicting coal seam gas production, particularly in numerical simulations. Although a variety of studies related to the relative permeability of coals have been conducted, the results hardly meet the needs of practical engineering applications. To track the dynamic development of relative permeability measurements in the laboratory, discover the deficiencies, and discuss further work in this field, this paper investigates the relative permeability measurement preparation work and laboratory methods and summarizes the development of techniques used to determine the water saturation during experimentation. The previously determined relative permeability curves are also assembled and classified according to coal rank and the absolute permeability. It is found that the general operations in the relative permeability measurement process are still not standardized. The techniques applied to determine the water saturation of coal in experiments have been refined to some extent, but no optimal technique has been recognized yet. New techniques, such as the incorporation of high-precision differential pressure gauges, can be used to determine the water production during relative permeability measurement. In addition, the existing relative permeability data are limited, and no study has focused on supercritical carbon dioxide-water and mixed gas (methane and carbon dioxide)-water relative permeability measurements. To meet the requirements of actual projects, further research on this topic must be conducted.

Keywords: coal; coalbed methane; relative permeability; gas; water; laboratory experiments; measurement technique; measurement method (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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