The flue gas emitted
from the oxy-coal combustion process, mainly
including the concentrated CO2 with volume fraction above
95% and a minor quantity of SO2 and NO
x
, directly sequestrated in the coal reservoirs can not only
mitigate CO2 emissions but also eliminate the cost of denitration
and desulfurization for the flue gas. The fluid storage in the coal
reservoirs is realized by the adsorption capability of the coal matrix.
Therefore, the adsorption process of SO2 on the four coal
samples was discussed in this work with the aim to provide basic knowledge
about the oxy-coal combustion flue gas storage in the unmineable coal
reservoirs. The potential mechanism existing during the interactions
of SO2 with various rank coal samples was further elucidated. Research results show
that the Freundlich isotherm model perfectly fits the adsorption equilibrium
behaviors for SO2 on various rank coals. The kinetics process
for SO2 adsorption on the coals can be described by the
pseudo-second-order kinetics model. The dependence of SO2 adsorption capacity upon the moisture of coals relies on the coal
rank. Furthermore, characterizations including the elemental analysis,
the Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy analysis, and the X-ray
photoelectron spectroscopy analysis reveal that the chemisorption
occurs between SO2 molecules and all of the test coal samples.
Specifically, the formations of sulfate and sulfone are the main mechanisms
during the interactions of SO2 with various rank coal samples.
The aforementioned chemisorption effect is beneficial to stably store
SO2 in the unmineable coal reservoirs. In addition, the
chemisorption effect between SO2 and the coals can also
generate higher recovery of coalbed methane than the conventional
CO2–enhanced coalbed methane process.