The Distribution Characteristics of Adsorbed CH 4 in Various-Sized Pore Structures of Coal Seams

Biao Hu (), Zeyu Ren, Shugang Li, Xinxin He, Hang Long, Liang Cheng and Rongwei Luo ()
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Biao Hu: School of Safety Science and Engineering, Xi’an University of Science and Technology, Xi’an 710054, China
Zeyu Ren: School of Safety Science and Engineering, Xi’an University of Science and Technology, Xi’an 710054, China
Shugang Li: School of Safety Science and Engineering, Xi’an University of Science and Technology, Xi’an 710054, China
Xinxin He: Department of Energy and Mineral Engineering, G3 Center and EMS Energy Institute, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA
Hang Long: School of Safety Science and Engineering, Xi’an University of Science and Technology, Xi’an 710054, China
Liang Cheng: School of Safety Science and Engineering, Xi’an University of Science and Technology, Xi’an 710054, China
Rongwei Luo: School of Safety Science and Engineering, Xi’an University of Science and Technology, Xi’an 710054, China

Mathematics, 2025, vol. 13, issue 18, 1-21

Abstract: The distribution characteristics of adsorbed CH 4 across pores of various sizes underpin coal mine gas disaster prevention, resource assessment, and efficient coalbed methane (CBM) extraction. Utilizing Grand Canonical Monte Carlo (GCMC) simulations as a theoretical framework, this study establishes a mathematical model linking microscopic pore structure to macroscopic CH 4 adsorption thermodynamics in coal. Results reveal that micropores (0.38–1.5 nm) dominate pore structures in coal. For micropores (0.419–1.466 nm), CH 4 adsorption follows the Dubinin-Astakhov (DA) equation. The adsorption parameters change significantly as pore diameter increases, indicating that micropore size distribution predominantly governs CH 4 adsorption in coal. For larger pores (1.619–4.040 nm), Langmuir equation analysis reveals no significant changes in CH 4 adsorption parameters with increasing pore size, suggesting that the CH 4 adsorption behavior in pore structures larger than 1.5 nm is relatively consistent and does not vary substantially with respect to pore size. The accuracy of the mathematical model improves with coal rank, reducing prediction errors from 35.371% to 11.044%. Decomposed CH 4 adsorption isotherms reveal that while CH 4 adsorption capacity increases with equilibrium pressure for all pores, smaller pores achieve saturation at lower pressures. The proportion of total adsorption attributed to smaller pores peaks before declining with further pressure increases.

Keywords: coal; pore structure; adsorbed CH 4; distribution characteristics; pore size; GCMC simulation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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