InterPore2018 New Orleans

N2, CO2, and Ar adsorption to characterize micro- and mesopores of shales

14 May 2018, 15:40

2m

New Orleans

Poster + 3 Minute Pitch MS 1.32: Sorption, Phase Behavior, and Fluid Transport in Fractured Black Shales Parallel 2-E

Speaker

Nerine Joewondo (Colorado School of Mines)

Description

The storage and flow mechanisms in shales depend largely on their microstructure. We use two parameters to characterize microstructures, namely specific surface area (SSA) and pore-size distribution (PSD). We use N$_2$ adsorption at 77K to quantify SSA and PSD of nanopores. There are two limitations of the N$_2$ adsorption method due to (1) uncertainties in molecular area due to the quadrupole moment of N$_2$ molecules result in 20% uncertainty in calculated BET SSA, and (2) kinetic restriction of N$_2$ molecules prevent it to access narrow pores (< 0.7 nm). To circumvent these limitations, we also used other adsorptives, such as CO$_2$ and Ar, for the measurements.

We present results from adsorption measurements of CO$_2$ at 273 K and Ar at 77 K on shales and compare them to N$_2$ adsorption at 77 K. Adsorption measurements with CO$_2$ at 273 K allows for detailed characterization of ultramicropores (< 0.7 nm), which are inaccessible to N$_2$ molecules. Our results from CO$_2$ adsorption reveal significantly larger micropore SSA in comparison to N$_2$ probed SSA. Ar molecules do not have quadrupole moment and resolve the uncertainties of molecular area for BET calculation.