Influence of liquid water on coalbed methane adsorption:An experimental research on coal reservoirs in the south of Qinshui Basin

Using Isothermal Adsorption/Desorption System Model IS-100 and Electrohydraulic Servo Rock System Model MTS815 as the main apparatuses and collecting samples from the major coal reservoirs in the south of Qinshui Basin, a hot point region of coalbed methane exploration, the paper carries out systematical comparisons of the isothermal adsorption experimental data for injection water coal samples, equilibrium moisture samples and dry coal samples, probes and establishes an experimental method of injection water coal sample preparation and isothermal experiment to simulate real reservoir conditions, and then summaries the experimental regulations and discusses the mechanism of liquid water influencing coal methane adsorption. Results of the experiment indicate that: The Langmuir volume of injection water coal samples is notably larger than that of equilibrium moisture samples, as well as larger than or equivalent to that of dry coal samples; the Langmuir pressure of injection water coal samples is the highest, the next is equilibrium moisture samples, while the dry samples is the lowest, of which the experimental results of injection water samples to simulate real reservoir conditions are more close to the fact. Under the conditions of in-position reservoirs, liquid water in coals has evident influence on methane adsorption ability of coal matrix, which can increase the adsorbability of coal and make the adsorption regulation fit to Langmuir model better. Its major reason is the increase of wetting coal matrix adsorbability. The above experimental results overthrow the conventional cognition that liquid water has no influence on coalbed methane adsorption, which may lead to an improvement of the coalbed methane isothermal adsorption experimental method and of the reliability of coalbed methane resource evaluation and prediction.