Investigation of Coal Wettability for the CO2 Sequestration and ECBM Applications: A Review

The efficiency of the enhanced-coalbed-methane (ECBM) and CO₂ sequestration process depends on the wettability behavior of the coal-water-CO₂ system. It depends on the CO₂ diffusion rate from the cleat network, through the micro-cleats, to the surface of the coal matrix. If the coal is hydrophobic, the gas will fill the smaller pores, which leads to faster diffusion of CO₂ to the coal surface (diffusion coefficient of CO₂ = 1.710^-7 m²/s at 100 bar and 300 K). The diffusion coefficient decreases to 210^-9 m²/s at the hydrophilic system.

This paper interoperates the published experimental outcomes of coal wettability at varies range of pressure, temperature, and gas composition. Wettability studies usually used the contact angle measurements as a simple method to characterize the coal. Adsorption isotherm, Zeta potential measurements were used to interoperate the contact angle results and understand the wettability behavior. Recently, Fourier Transform Infrared Spectrometer (FT-IR) technique was employed to investigate the functional chemical groups of the oxidized coals.

Coal has different ranks with different oxygen-containing polar groups such as carboxyl (COOH), hydroxyl (OH), and methoxyl (OCH₃) groups. Coal becomes more water-wet with decreasing rank, carbon content and with increasing oxygen-containing groups. Regardless of the coal rank, the coal becomes more CO₂-wet with increasing pressure up to the critical gas conditions where the coal wettability slightly increase. As the water salt concentration increases, it compresses and destabilizes the double-layer surrounding the coal surface, causing a reduction in the absolute zeta potential value and making the coal surface more hydrophobic. Temperature has a negative effect on CO₂ wettability to coal and the coal becomes more hydrophilic with increasing the temperature. EOS can be used to predict the contact angle behavior as a function of the interfacial tension forces. In oxidized coal surfaces, FTIR technique is more sensitive than contact angle measurements.