Study on the Electrical Control Mechanism of Gas Occurrence in a Microscale Coal Matrix

Abstract

The study of the gas occurrence mechanism in a microscale coal matrix is the basis of coalbed methane (CBM) reservoir formation mechanism analysis and its exploration and development scheme design, which has important scientific and engineering significance. Currently, many researchers are focusing on a specific coal type to explore the macroscopic adsorption characteristics of gas occurrence. However, the research on the microscale gas–solid coupling mechanism is relatively rare and the electrical control mechanism of gas occurrence is not reported in detail. This study focuses on the electrical mechanism of microscale gas occurrence using physical simulation experiments and molecular dynamics analysis. This study clarifies the “gas adsorption–electrical properties–functional group” linkage mechanism and explores the macroscopic performance of the microscale gas occurrence mechanism using electrical properties. The study reveals the following: (1) the coal reservoirs exhibit a weak negative potential at the nanoscale, and the trends of surface potential (SP) and surface electrical charging density (SECD) are fluctuated with the degree of coal rank increases; (2) there is a good correlation between the SP, SECD values, and the relative content of functional groups; and (3) the charge density on the coal’s microscopic surface influences their gas molecule attraction capacity, affecting the gas adsorption capacity of coal reservoirs at the macroscale. This study presents a theoretical foundation for establishing the molecular force field superposition mechanism of gas occurrence in microscale coal matrix and has broad application prospects in the macroscale numerical simulation of CBM development.