InterPore2021

Methane adsorption on Silica-Kaolinite interface for shale gas application: A theoretical study

3 Jun 2021, 20:00

1h

Poster (+) Presentation (MS13) Fluids in Nanoporous Media Poster +

Speaker

Abdulmujeeb Onawole (Qatar University)

Description

Methane mostly makes up the constituent of shale gas and it is currently being exploited in fulfilling the world’s energy demands [1]. Molecular simulation techniques including Density Functional Theory (DFT) and Molecular Dynamics (MD) techniques are employed to understand methane transport in the pores at typical reservoir conditions [2]. To simulate the shale model which in reality is made up of clay and quartz-like material, an interface is created from the pure surfaces of silica (quartz) and kaolinite (clay) [3,4]. The simulations revealed that the interface is formed by a chemical bond between a silicon atom from the silica surface and two oxygen atoms from the kaolinite surface. The adsorption of methane was studied at three different positions on the Silica-Kaolinite interface namely, silica-dominated region, interface region, and kaolinite-dominated region. The mode of adsorption of methane irrespective of its position on the interface was found to be physisorption [5]. However, methane has stronger adsorption on the kaolinite region than the silica region. This results provides insight at the molecular level of methane interaction with a silica-kaolinite interface which will be useful in shale reservoir application particularly in estimating the original gas in place.

References

(1) Mistré, M.; Crénes, M.; Hafner, M. Shale Gas Production Costs: Historical Developments and Outlook. Energy Strateg. Rev. 2018, 20, 20–25. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.esr.2018.01.001.
(2) Tang, X.; Ripepi, N.; Luxbacher, K.; Pitcher, E. Adsorption Models for Methane in Shales: Review, Comparison, and Application. Energy and Fuels 2017, 31 (10), 10787–10801. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.energyfuels.7b01948.
(3) Chiang, W. S.; Fratini, E.; Baglioni, P.; Chen, J. H.; Liu, Y. Pore Size Effect on Methane Adsorption in Mesoporous Silica Materials Studied by Small-Angle Neutron Scattering. Langmuir 2016, 32 (35), 8849–8857. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.langmuir.6b02291.
(4) Zhao, J.; Wang, J. M.; Qin, X. Z.; Han, W. S.; Tao, Z. G.; He, M. C. First-Principles Calculations of Methane Adsorption at Different Coverage on the Kaolinite (001) Surface. Mater. Today Commun. 2019, 18, 199–205. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mtcomm.2018.12.011.
(5) Onawole, A. T.; Nasser, M. S.; Hussein, I. A.; Al-marri, M. J.; Aparicio, S. Applied Surface Science Theoretical Studies of Methane Adsorption on Silica-Kaolinite Interface for Shale Reservoir Application. Appl. Surf. Sci. 2021, 546 (149164), 1–8. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apsusc.2021.149164.