Influence of surface chemistry on interfacial properties of low to high rank coal seams

Wettability of CO2/water/coal systems is a fundamental petro-physical parameter, which governs the fluid flow and distribution in coal seams and thus directly affects CO2-storage and methane recovery from unmineable coal seams. The recognition of wettability of coal/CO2/brine systems help to de-risk...

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Main Authors: Arif, M., Jones, Franca, Barifcani, Ahmed, Iglauer, Stefan
Format: Journal Article
Published: Elsevier Ltd 2017
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/27833
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author Arif, M.
Jones, Franca
Barifcani, Ahmed
Iglauer, Stefan
author_facet Arif, M.
Jones, Franca
Barifcani, Ahmed
Iglauer, Stefan
author_sort Arif, M.
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description Wettability of CO2/water/coal systems is a fundamental petro-physical parameter, which governs the fluid flow and distribution in coal seams and thus directly affects CO2-storage and methane recovery from unmineable coal seams. The recognition of wettability of coal/CO2/brine systems help to de-risk CO2-storage and enhanced methane recovery projects in coal seams. To understand the factors influencing the wetting characteristics of coals, a detailed examination and characterization of coal surface chemistry is essential and literature data in this context is missing. We thus measured zeta potentials as a function of temperature (298–343 K), brine salinity (0 wt% NaCl–5 wt% NaCl) and salt type (NaCl, CaCl2 and MgCl2) for coals of low, medium and high ranks. Further, we measured water advancing and receding contact angles as a function of temperature and salinity for the same experimental matrix in order to associate wettability changes to the surface charge at the coal/brine interface. Moreover, coal surfaces were investigated by Fourier transformed infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and the surface functional groups responsible for a particular wetting behaviour were identified. We found that zeta potential increased with temperature, salinity and cation valency. Both advancing and receding contact angles decreased with temperature, and increased with salinity and cation valency irrespective of the coal rank. Finally the XRD measurements and infrared spectra revealed that the presence of polar surface functional groups (e.g. Si OH and carboxylic acid groups) which is responsible for the hydrophilic behaviour of low rank coals and the absence of these groups in high rank coal is responsible for their hydrophobic behaviour even at lower pressure. The high rank coal seams at high pressure are better for CO2 storage and methane recovery.
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spelling curtin-20.500.11937-278332019-01-18T03:30:58Z Influence of surface chemistry on interfacial properties of low to high rank coal seams Arif, M. Jones, Franca Barifcani, Ahmed Iglauer, Stefan Wettability of CO2/water/coal systems is a fundamental petro-physical parameter, which governs the fluid flow and distribution in coal seams and thus directly affects CO2-storage and methane recovery from unmineable coal seams. The recognition of wettability of coal/CO2/brine systems help to de-risk CO2-storage and enhanced methane recovery projects in coal seams. To understand the factors influencing the wetting characteristics of coals, a detailed examination and characterization of coal surface chemistry is essential and literature data in this context is missing. We thus measured zeta potentials as a function of temperature (298–343 K), brine salinity (0 wt% NaCl–5 wt% NaCl) and salt type (NaCl, CaCl2 and MgCl2) for coals of low, medium and high ranks. Further, we measured water advancing and receding contact angles as a function of temperature and salinity for the same experimental matrix in order to associate wettability changes to the surface charge at the coal/brine interface. Moreover, coal surfaces were investigated by Fourier transformed infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and the surface functional groups responsible for a particular wetting behaviour were identified. We found that zeta potential increased with temperature, salinity and cation valency. Both advancing and receding contact angles decreased with temperature, and increased with salinity and cation valency irrespective of the coal rank. Finally the XRD measurements and infrared spectra revealed that the presence of polar surface functional groups (e.g. Si OH and carboxylic acid groups) which is responsible for the hydrophilic behaviour of low rank coals and the absence of these groups in high rank coal is responsible for their hydrophobic behaviour even at lower pressure. The high rank coal seams at high pressure are better for CO2 storage and methane recovery. 2017 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/27833 10.1016/j.fuel.2017.01.027 Elsevier Ltd fulltext
spellingShingle Arif, M.
Jones, Franca
Barifcani, Ahmed
Iglauer, Stefan
Influence of surface chemistry on interfacial properties of low to high rank coal seams
title Influence of surface chemistry on interfacial properties of low to high rank coal seams
title_full Influence of surface chemistry on interfacial properties of low to high rank coal seams
title_fullStr Influence of surface chemistry on interfacial properties of low to high rank coal seams
title_full_unstemmed Influence of surface chemistry on interfacial properties of low to high rank coal seams
title_short Influence of surface chemistry on interfacial properties of low to high rank coal seams
title_sort influence of surface chemistry on interfacial properties of low to high rank coal seams
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/27833