To reduce carbon emissions, hydrogen
(H2) has been considered
an important energy carrier, since its combustion only generates water.
With the development of shale gas, depleted shale gas reservoirs might
be good candidates for H2 storage. However, the mechanism
of H2 storage in depleted shale gas reservoirs is not clearly
understood. Therefore, in this work, we apply Monte Carlo simulation
to analyze the compositional distribution and phase behavior of the
H2–shale gas (H2–SG) system under
multiscale (bulk + nanoscale) conditions. Our molecular simulation
results show that compositional heterogeneity exists between the bulk
region and the nanopores. The bulk fluid has a higher percentage of
H2 while more hydrocarbons are present in nanopores. For
the fluids in nanopores, hydrocarbons are adsorbed near the boundary
while H2 molecules are freely distributed, which makes
H2 molecules more likely to be released to the bulk region.
The compositional heterogeneity and hydrocarbon adsorption collectively
lead to a high percentage of H2 in the bulk fluid. Since
the bulk fluid is produced during the extraction process, the high
percentage of H2 in the bulk fluid means a high purity
of H2 in the extracted fluid, which can be a positive factor
for H2 storage in shale gas reservoirs. An increase in
the volume percentage of nanopores can increase the H2 purity
in the extracted fluid.
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