Experimental Investigation on Correlation Between Permeability Variation and Pore Structure During Coal Pyrolysis

Abstract

Transport in porous media with chemical and thermal effects is a common phenomenon; it is also a complicated scientific problem with applications in the field of mining engineering. In situ pyrolysis for coal gas generation is just such a problem, involving material and structural changes in the coal and surrounding rocks, with massive thermal and chemical effects. The transport properties of the coal are substantially changed, which in turn affect the thermal and chemico-mechanical reactions. A series of laboratory experiments on pore structure and permeability changes during gas coal pyrolysis were carried; the experimental procedure and results are described and analyzed in this study. The pore volume and permeability of tested specimens experienced modest changes during the heating process from 20 to 300°C, but when heated from 300 to 400°C, large pores in the specimens greatly increased and the overall porosity reached 23% at 400°C, which is larger than the percolation threshold value of the rock mass with pores and cracks. The permeability of the specimens increased exponentially with temperature, evidencing the massive structural changes that took place in the specimens during the pyrolysis process. In the high temperature range from 400 to 600°C, fewer changes in the specific surface area of microscopic and small pores in the coal took place, but the pore volume and porosity increased linearly with temperature.