Study on pore evolution characteristics of gas adsorption and desorption in coal under the action of liquid nitrogen

CBM (Coalbed methane) belongs to unconventional natural gas mineral resources. The development and utilization of CBM can greatly reduce the occurrence of mine gas accidents, and how to improve the desorption capacity of CBM has always been a hot issue for researchers. Liquid nitrogen has obvious effect on coal seam cracking and permeability improvement. The purpose of this paper is to study the cracking mechanism of liquid nitrogen on coal, and provide a theoretical basis for using liquid nitrogen freezing and thawing to treat coal so as to improve the production of coalbed methane. Coal samples from Yangquan County, Shanxi Province were pretreated. The pore structure test, microscopic observation test and methane isothermal adsorption test were carried out after the coal samples with different particle sizes were treated with different liquid nitrogen freeze-thaw cycles. According to the experimental data, the evolution law of pores of coal before and after freezing and thawing with liquid nitrogen, the cracking mechanism of coal treated with freezing and thawing with liquid nitrogen, and the optimal number of freezing and thawing cycles with liquid nitrogen are analyzed. The results show that: 1) the evolution characteristics of pore structure of lower coal after liquid nitrogen freezing and thawing are that micropores in coal are promoted to develop into transition pores and mesopores, and mesopores and transition pores develop into macropores and fractures. 2) Through the observation of a metallographic microscope, the expansion degree of coal surface crack is positively correlated with the times of liquid nitrogen freeze-thaw. 3) Liquid nitrogen freeze-thaw treatment has an optimal number of cycles for the cracking degree of coal. With the increase of freeze-thaw cycles, the final adsorption capacity of coal pillar increases first and then decreases; The adsorption capacity of granular coal first increases and then decreases. After reaching freeze-thaw saturation, continued freeze-thaw is not conducive to the increase of adsorption capacity. These research results provide theoretical support for the implementation of liquid nitrogen fracturing and permeability enhancement technology in coal reservoirs.