Interactions between injected CO2 and shale formation during the process of CO2 sequestration with enhancing shale gas recovery (CS-EGR) may alter the physical and chemical properties of the rock, affecting the efficiency of CO2 storage as well as CH4 production. To better understand these interaction-induced changes in shale properties, two shale samples selected from a marine Longmaxi formation and terrestrial Chang-7 member of the Yanchang formation were first reacted with supercritical CO2 (scCO2) in a laboratory batch reactor at 80 °C and 15 MPa with different time intervals, and then characterization methods were designed to access the geochemical changes including optical microscope (OM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), element analysis (EA), low-pressure gas adsorption (LPGA), and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The results indicate that the nanopore structure system of the two shale samples was significantly changed after scCO2–shale interaction due to the scCO2-induced extraction of hydrocarbons, chemical reactions in minerals, and the swelling effect in clay minerals as well as organic matter. However, after exposure to scCO2, the variation trend of pore structure parameters between the marine Longmaxi and terrestrial Chang-7 sample was quite different, which was related to the huge discrepancies in terms of mineralogy and geochemical properties between them. For marine Longmaxi sample, the pore surface area and pore volume obviously decreased after a relatively short period of scCO2 treatment, whereas an opposite trend was observed in a terrestrial Chang-7 sample after long-term scCO2 treatment. In addition, an obvious decrease in fractal dimensions for marine Longmaxi sample was also observed after scCO2 exposure, reflecting the degree of pore surface roughness, and pore structure complexity were reduced, whereas the terrestrial Chang-7 sample exhibited an opposite trend. The results contribute to the understanding of the potential factors for the pore-structure evolution during long-term CO2 storage and the possible effect on the CS-EGR process.

No abstract

No abstract