Competition between adsorption-induced swelling and elastic compression of coal at CO2 pressures up to 100 MPa

Enhanced Coalbed Methane production (ECBM) by CO2 injection frequently proves ineffective due to rapidly decreasing injectivity. Adsorption-induced swelling of the coal matrix has been identified as the principal factor controlling this reduction. To improve understanding of coal swelling in response to exposure to CO2 at high pressures, numerous laboratory studies have been performed in the past decades. These studies consistently reveal an increase in swelling with CO2 pressure. However, it remains unclear what the relative contributions are of adsorption-induced swelling versus elastic compression of the coal framework, and hence what is the true relationship between adsorption-induced swelling and CO2 uptake. Here, we report the results of dilatometry experiments conducted on unconfined, cylindrical coal matrix samples (∼4 mm long and 4 mm in diameter) of high volatile bituminous coal, where we aim to measure the effective volumetric effect of CO2 and to separate this into a component caused by adsorption-induced swelling and a component caused by elastic compression. The experiments were performed using a high pressure eddy current dilatometer that was used to measure one-dimensional sample expansion or contraction (resolution