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Advances in Geo-Energy Research 2022, 6(2): 143-156 https://doi.org/10.46690/ager.2022.02.06
Original Article | Open Access | Issue | Published: 14 February 2022

Experimental study on the isothermal adsorption of methane gas in natural gas hydrate argillaceous silt reservoir

Show Author's Information Rongrong Qi1,2,  Xuwen Qin1,3,  Cheng Lu4,5( ),  Chao Ma1,2,  Wenjing Mao1,2,  Wentong Zhang6
Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Guangzhou), Guangzhou 511458, P. R. China
Guangzhou Marine Geological Survey, China Geological Survey, Guangzhou 510075, P. R. China
China Geological Survey, Beijing 100083, P. R. China
Oil and Gas Resource Survey Center, China Geological Survey, Beijing 100083, P. R. China
School of Energy Resources, China University of Geosciences, Beijing 100083, P. R. China
Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta T6G2G2, Canada
Keywords:
adsorption, pore structure, Natural gas hydrate, argillaceous silt
Cite this article:
Qi R, Qin X, Lu C, et al. Experimental study on the isothermal adsorption of methane gas in natural gas hydrate argillaceous silt reservoir. Advances in Geo-Energy Research, 2022, 6(2): 143-156. https://doi.org/10.46690/ager.2022.02.06
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Abstract Full text About this article

Gas hydrate occurs in hydrate reservoirs in a solid form. At present, the conventional exploitation method is to decompose solid hydrate and then extract the resulting gaseous gas. Therefore, the occurrence law of gas in a reservoir is of great significance for the study of gas hydrate seepage and productivity. Adsorption, as an important occurrence mode, has been widely concerned in the research on shale reservoirs. However, the adsorption problem in hydrate reservoirs has not received enough attention. In this paper, the existence of adsorption in a hydrate reservoir has been experimentally confirmed for the first time. Based on the argillaceous silt of a natural gas hydrate reservoir in the South China Sea, the pore structure and adsorption characteristics of argillaceous silt were experimentally studied, and the results were compared with those of typical shale reservoirs. The modified Langmuir and Dubinin-Radushevich equations were used to fit the adsorption data, and the suitable adsorption model of argillaceous silt was established and optimized. The results showed that the inhomogeneous slit pores are dominant in argillaceous silt, and they are formed by the accumulation of lamellar particles. Compared with shale, the adsorption capacity of argillaceous silt is weak under the same conditions. However, adsorption is a spontaneous exothermic reaction, and the ambient temperature of argillaceous silt is much lower than that of shale. Therefore, it is possible for argillaceous silt to achieve an adsorption capacity comparable to that of shale. The modified Langmuir model can be used to simulate argillaceous silt adsorption at low pressure, while under medium and high pressures, the modified Dubinin-Radushevich model performs better. The adsorption capacity of argillaceous silt is affected by moisture. When the water content is 20%, the Langmuir adsorption capacity and the Dubinin-Radushevich maximum adsorption capacity decreases by 21.88% and 13.67%, respectively, which is far less than the influence of moisture on shale adsorption, as reported in the literature.


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Experimental study on the isothermal adsorption of methane gas in natural gas hydrate argillaceous silt reservoir

Show Author's information Rongrong Qi1,2, Xuwen Qin1,3, Cheng Lu4,5( ), Chao Ma1,2, Wenjing Mao1,2, Wentong Zhang6
Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Guangzhou), Guangzhou 511458, P. R. China
Guangzhou Marine Geological Survey, China Geological Survey, Guangzhou 510075, P. R. China
China Geological Survey, Beijing 100083, P. R. China
Oil and Gas Resource Survey Center, China Geological Survey, Beijing 100083, P. R. China
School of Energy Resources, China University of Geosciences, Beijing 100083, P. R. China
Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta T6G2G2, Canada

Abstract

Gas hydrate occurs in hydrate reservoirs in a solid form. At present, the conventional exploitation method is to decompose solid hydrate and then extract the resulting gaseous gas. Therefore, the occurrence law of gas in a reservoir is of great significance for the study of gas hydrate seepage and productivity. Adsorption, as an important occurrence mode, has been widely concerned in the research on shale reservoirs. However, the adsorption problem in hydrate reservoirs has not received enough attention. In this paper, the existence of adsorption in a hydrate reservoir has been experimentally confirmed for the first time. Based on the argillaceous silt of a natural gas hydrate reservoir in the South China Sea, the pore structure and adsorption characteristics of argillaceous silt were experimentally studied, and the results were compared with those of typical shale reservoirs. The modified Langmuir and Dubinin-Radushevich equations were used to fit the adsorption data, and the suitable adsorption model of argillaceous silt was established and optimized. The results showed that the inhomogeneous slit pores are dominant in argillaceous silt, and they are formed by the accumulation of lamellar particles. Compared with shale, the adsorption capacity of argillaceous silt is weak under the same conditions. However, adsorption is a spontaneous exothermic reaction, and the ambient temperature of argillaceous silt is much lower than that of shale. Therefore, it is possible for argillaceous silt to achieve an adsorption capacity comparable to that of shale. The modified Langmuir model can be used to simulate argillaceous silt adsorption at low pressure, while under medium and high pressures, the modified Dubinin-Radushevich model performs better. The adsorption capacity of argillaceous silt is affected by moisture. When the water content is 20%, the Langmuir adsorption capacity and the Dubinin-Radushevich maximum adsorption capacity decreases by 21.88% and 13.67%, respectively, which is far less than the influence of moisture on shale adsorption, as reported in the literature.

Keywords: adsorption, pore structure, Natural gas hydrate, argillaceous silt

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Received: 15 January 2022
Revised: 08 February 2022
Accepted: 09 February 2022
Published: 14 February 2022
Issue date: April 2022

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© The Author(s) 2022.

Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful to the Key Special Project for Introduced Talents Team of Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Guangzhou) (No. GML2019ZD0105), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 51991365), the Guangdong Major Project of Basic and Applied Basic Research (No. 2020B0301030003), the Key Program of Marine Economy Development (Six Marine Industries) Special Foundation of Department of Natural Resources of Guangdong Province (No. GDNRC[2021]56) and the China Geological Survey Project (Nos. DD20211350 and DD20190232).

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