Simulation experiments on the reaction system of CH4-MgSO4-H2O

H₂S-rich gas in carbonate reservoirs is usually attributed to thermochemical sulfate reduction (TSR). In this paper, thermal simulation experiments on the reaction system of CH₄-MgSO₄-H₂O were carried out using autoclave at 425°C–525°C. The threshold temperature for initiating TSR is much lower than our previous studies (550°C). Properties of the reaction products were analyzed by microcoulometry, gas-chromatography (GC), Fourier transform-infrared spectrometry (FT-IR) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) methods. Thermodynamics and reaction kinetics of TSR processes were investigated on the basis of the experimental data. The results show that thermochemical reduction of magnesium sulfate with methane can proceed spontaneously to produce magnesium oxide, hydrogen sulfur, and carbon dioxide as the main products, and high temperature is thermodynamically favorable to the reaction. According to the reaction model, the calculated activation energy of TSR is 101.894 kJ/mol, which is lower than that by most previous studies. Mg²⁺ may have played a role of catalytic action in the process of TSR. The elementary steps of TSR and reaction mechanism were discussed tentatively. The study can provide important information on the explanation of geochemical depth limit for natural gas and on the generation of high H₂S gas in deep carbonates reservoirs. Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 40472076 and 40702019) and Item of Cooperative Fund of Beijing Educational Committee (Grant No. XK114140479)