Molecular Investigation on the Displacement Characteristics of CH 4 by CO 2, N 2 and Their Mixture in a Composite Shale Model

Liang Gong, Yuan Zhang, Na Li, Ze-Kai Gu, Bin Ding and Chuan-Yong Zhu
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Liang Gong: College of New Energy, China University of Petroleum (East China), Qingdao 266580, China
Yuan Zhang: College of New Energy, China University of Petroleum (East China), Qingdao 266580, China
Na Li: College of New Energy, China University of Petroleum (East China), Qingdao 266580, China
Ze-Kai Gu: College of New Energy, China University of Petroleum (East China), Qingdao 266580, China
Bin Ding: College of New Energy, China University of Petroleum (East China), Qingdao 266580, China
Chuan-Yong Zhu: College of New Energy, China University of Petroleum (East China), Qingdao 266580, China

Energies, 2020, vol. 14, issue 1, 1-13

Abstract: The rapid growth in energy consumption and environmental pollution have greatly stimulated the exploration and utilization of shale gas. The injection of gases such as CO 2 , N 2 , and their mixture is currently regarded as one of the most effective ways to enhance gas recovery from shale reservoirs. In this study, molecular simulations were conducted on a kaolinite–kerogen IID composite shale matrix to explore the displacement characteristics of CH 4 using different injection gases, including CO 2 , N 2 , and their mixture. The results show that when the injection pressure was lower than 10 MPa, increasing the injection pressure improved the displacement capacity of CH 4 by CO 2 . Correspondingly, an increase of formation temperature also increased the displacement efficiency of CH 4 , but an increase of pore size slightly increased this displacement efficiency. Moreover, it was found that when the proportion of CO 2 and N 2 was 1:1, the displacement efficiency of CH 4 was the highest, which proved that the simultaneous injection of CO 2 and N 2 had a synergistic effect on shale gas production. The results of this paper will provide guidance and reference for the displacement exploitation of shale gas by injection gases.

Keywords: composite shale model; displacement; molecular simulations; shale gas; injection gases (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
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