skip to main content
OSTI.GOV title logo U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Title: Methane Diffusion and Adsorption in Shale Rocks: A Numerical Study Using the Dusty Gas Model in TOUGH2/EOS7C-ECBM

Abstract

Gas production from shale gas reservoirs plays a significant role in satisfying increasing energy demands. Compared with conventional sandstone and carbonate reservoirs, shale gas reservoirs are characterized by extremely low porosity, ultra-low permeability and high clay content. Slip flow, diffusion, adsorption and desorption are the primary gas transport processes in shale matrix, while Darcy flow is restricted to fractures. Understanding methane diffusion and adsorption, and gas flow and equilibrium in the low-permeability matrix of shale is crucial for shale formation evaluation and for predicting gas production. Modeling of diffusion in low-permeability shale rocks requires use of the Dusty gas model (DGM) rather than Fick’s law. The DGM is incorporated in the TOUGH2 module EOS7C-ECBM, a modified version of EOS7C that simulates multicomponent gas mixture transport in porous media. Also included in EOS7C-ECBM is the extended Langmuir model for adsorption and desorption of gases. In this study, a column shale model was constructed to simulate methane diffusion and adsorption through shale rocks. The process of binary CH4- N2 diffusion and adsorption was analyzed. A sensitivity study was performed to investigate the effects of pressure, temperature and permeability on diffusion and adsorption in shale rocks. The results show that methane gas diffusionmore » and adsorption in shale is a slow process of dynamic equilibrium, which can be illustrated by the slope of a curve in CH4mass variation. The amount of adsorption increases with the pressure increase at the low pressure, and the mass change by gas diffusion will decrease due to the decrease in the compressibility factor of the gas. With the elevated temperature, the gas molecules move faster and then the greater gas diffusion rates make the process duration shorter. The gas diffusion rate decreases with the permeability decrease, and there is a limit of gas diffusion if the permeability is less than 1.0×10-15 m2. In conclusion, the results can provide insights for a better understanding of methane diffusion and adsorption in the shale rocks so as to optimize gas production performance of shale gas reservoirs.« less

Authors:
ORCiD logo [1];  [2];  [2];  [2];  [2];  [2]
  1. Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Beijing (China). Key Lab. for Mechanics in Fluid Solid Coupling Systems, Inst. of Mechanics; Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States). Energy Geosciences Division; Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Langfang (China). Inst. of Porous Flow and Fluid Mechanics
  2. Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States). Energy Geosciences Division
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
Sponsoring Org.:
USDOE Office of Science (SC)
OSTI Identifier:
1460342
Grant/Contract Number:  
AC02-05CH11231; ESD14085
Resource Type:
Journal Article: Accepted Manuscript
Journal Name:
Transport in Porous Media
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 123; Journal Issue: 3; Journal ID: ISSN 0169-3913
Publisher:
Springer
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
04 OIL SHALES AND TAR SANDS

Citation Formats

Shen, Weijun, Zheng, Liange, Oldenburg, Curtis M., Cihan, Abdullah, Wan, Jiamin, and Tokunaga, Tetsu K. Methane Diffusion and Adsorption in Shale Rocks: A Numerical Study Using the Dusty Gas Model in TOUGH2/EOS7C-ECBM. United States: N. p., 2018. Web. doi:10.1007/s11242-017-0985-y.
Shen, Weijun, Zheng, Liange, Oldenburg, Curtis M., Cihan, Abdullah, Wan, Jiamin, & Tokunaga, Tetsu K. Methane Diffusion and Adsorption in Shale Rocks: A Numerical Study Using the Dusty Gas Model in TOUGH2/EOS7C-ECBM. United States. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11242-017-0985-y
Shen, Weijun, Zheng, Liange, Oldenburg, Curtis M., Cihan, Abdullah, Wan, Jiamin, and Tokunaga, Tetsu K. 2018. "Methane Diffusion and Adsorption in Shale Rocks: A Numerical Study Using the Dusty Gas Model in TOUGH2/EOS7C-ECBM". United States. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11242-017-0985-y. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1460342.
@article{osti_1460342,
title = {Methane Diffusion and Adsorption in Shale Rocks: A Numerical Study Using the Dusty Gas Model in TOUGH2/EOS7C-ECBM},
author = {Shen, Weijun and Zheng, Liange and Oldenburg, Curtis M. and Cihan, Abdullah and Wan, Jiamin and Tokunaga, Tetsu K.},
abstractNote = {Gas production from shale gas reservoirs plays a significant role in satisfying increasing energy demands. Compared with conventional sandstone and carbonate reservoirs, shale gas reservoirs are characterized by extremely low porosity, ultra-low permeability and high clay content. Slip flow, diffusion, adsorption and desorption are the primary gas transport processes in shale matrix, while Darcy flow is restricted to fractures. Understanding methane diffusion and adsorption, and gas flow and equilibrium in the low-permeability matrix of shale is crucial for shale formation evaluation and for predicting gas production. Modeling of diffusion in low-permeability shale rocks requires use of the Dusty gas model (DGM) rather than Fick’s law. The DGM is incorporated in the TOUGH2 module EOS7C-ECBM, a modified version of EOS7C that simulates multicomponent gas mixture transport in porous media. Also included in EOS7C-ECBM is the extended Langmuir model for adsorption and desorption of gases. In this study, a column shale model was constructed to simulate methane diffusion and adsorption through shale rocks. The process of binary CH4- N2 diffusion and adsorption was analyzed. A sensitivity study was performed to investigate the effects of pressure, temperature and permeability on diffusion and adsorption in shale rocks. The results show that methane gas diffusion and adsorption in shale is a slow process of dynamic equilibrium, which can be illustrated by the slope of a curve in CH4mass variation. The amount of adsorption increases with the pressure increase at the low pressure, and the mass change by gas diffusion will decrease due to the decrease in the compressibility factor of the gas. With the elevated temperature, the gas molecules move faster and then the greater gas diffusion rates make the process duration shorter. The gas diffusion rate decreases with the permeability decrease, and there is a limit of gas diffusion if the permeability is less than 1.0×10-15 m2. In conclusion, the results can provide insights for a better understanding of methane diffusion and adsorption in the shale rocks so as to optimize gas production performance of shale gas reservoirs.},
doi = {10.1007/s11242-017-0985-y},
url = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/1460342}, journal = {Transport in Porous Media},
issn = {0169-3913},
number = 3,
volume = 123,
place = {United States},
year = {Wed Jan 03 00:00:00 EST 2018},
month = {Wed Jan 03 00:00:00 EST 2018}
}

Journal Article:
Free Publicly Available Full Text
Publisher's Version of Record

Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 30 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

Figures / Tables:

Fig. 1 Fig. 1: Schematic of the column shale model for methane diffusion and adsorption

Save / Share:

Works referenced in this record:

Mixing of Stably Stratified Gases in Subsurface Reservoirs: A Comparison of Diffusion Models
journal, March 2004


Analysis of Mechanisms of Flow in Fractured Tight-Gas and Shale-Gas Reservoirs
conference, April 2013

  • Moridis, George J.; Blasingame, Thomas Alwin; Freeman, Craig Matt
  • SPE Latin American and Caribbean Petroleum Engineering Conference
  • https://doi.org/10.2118/139250-MS

Numerical Simulator Comparison Study for Enhanced Coalbed Methane Recovery Processes, Part I: Pure Carbon Dioxide Injection
conference, April 2013


Characterization of porosity in vapor-deposited amorphous solid water from methane adsorption
journal, November 2007


Measurement of gas storage processes in shale and of the molecular diffusion coefficient in kerogen
journal, March 2014


TOUGH2 User's Guide Version 2
report, November 1999


Numerical simulation of gas and water flow mechanism in hydraulically fractured shale gas reservoirs
journal, September 2016


Apparent permeability model for real gas transport through shale gas reservoirs considering water distribution characteristic
journal, December 2017


Gas transport in unsaturated zones: Multicomponent systems and the adequacy of Fick's laws
journal, March 1989


Blasingame decline type curves with material balance pseudo-time modified for multi-fractured horizontal wells in shale gas reservoirs
journal, April 2016


Geochemical constraints on the origin and volume of gas in the New Albany Shale (Devonian–Mississippian), eastern Illinois Basin
journal, November 2010


Mechanism model for shale gas transport considering diffusion, adsorption/desorption and Darcy flow
journal, July 2013


Shale Gas Plays: A Performance Perspective
conference, April 2013


Works referencing / citing this record:

Study of the effects of hydraulic fractures on gas and water flow in shale gas reservoirs
journal, October 2019


Study on mechanical characteristics and damage mechanism of the Longmaxi Formation shale in southern Sichuan Basin, China
journal, September 2019


Flowing material balance method with adsorbed phase volumes for unconventional gas reservoirs
journal, September 2019


Experimental study on flow characteristics of gas transport in micro- and nanoscale pores
journal, July 2019


Figures/Tables have been extracted from DOE-funded journal article accepted manuscripts.