scholarly journals Pore Structure and Fractal Characteristics of Shale under the Control of Bedding and Size: A Case Study of Shale from the Longmaxi Formation in China

2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
pp. 1-13
Author(s):  
Yao Cheng ◽  
Yifeng Xie ◽  
Yulin Ma ◽  
Yanlin Zhao

In this study, the pore structure and fractal characteristics of shale samples with different bedding directions and sizes from the Longmaxi Formation of the Changning block in the Sichuan Basin were investigated by using CT imaging and low-temperature nitrogen adsorption experiments. The pore morphology, pore structure characteristics, relationships between the fractal dimensions and pore parameters, and effect of the size and bedding direction on pore morphology and various pore parameters were explored. In terms of pore structure characteristics, we found that the pores of shale samples were well developed and connected, forming a large number of pore clusters. The pores were mainly open pores and mesopores, which contributed the most to the specific surface area of the pores. Two fractal dimensions D1 and D2 were calculated from nitrogen adsorption data at relative pressures of 0–0.45 and 0.45–1, using the FHH method. These fractal dimensions characterized the pore surface and pore structure complexity, respectively. D1 ranged from 2.773 to 2.923, with a mean value of 2.821, and D2 varied from 2.853 to 2.899, with a mean value of 2.874. These variations indicated that there were irregular pore surfaces and sophisticated pore structures in the shale. The sample size and bedding direction had a significant impact on pore morphology and various pore parameters. Several pore characteristics of the vertical samples were superior to those of the horizontal samples. With an increase in size, the pore distribution became more uniform, the number of pore clusters increased, and the connectivity between pore clusters was enhanced. There was a good positive correlation between the fractal dimension D2 and specific surface area and moderate positive correlation between D2 and porosity and between D2 and pore volume. However, the fractal dimension D1 had a weak negative correlation with porosity and specific surface area and moderate negative correlation with pore volume. Moreover, both D1 and D2 tended to decrease with increasing average pore diameter.

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 682-692
Author(s):  
Youzhi Wang ◽  
Cui Mao

The pore structure characteristic is an important index to measure and evaluate the storage capacity and fracturing coal reservoir. The coal of Baliancheng coalfield in Hunchun Basin was selected for experiments including low temperature nitrogen adsorption method, Argon Ion milling Scanning Electron Microscopy (Ar-SEM), Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR), X-ray diffraction method, quantitative mineral clay analysis method. The pore structure of coal was quantitatively characterized by means of fractal theory. Meanwhile, the influences of pores fractal dimension were discussed with experiment data. The results show that the organic pores in Baliancheng coalfield are mainly plant tissue pores, interparticle pores and gas pores, and the mineral pores are corrosion pores and clay mineral pores. There are mainly slit pore and wedge-shaped pore in curve I of Low temperature nitrogen adsorption. There are ink pores in curve II with characteristics of a large specific surface area and average pore diameter. The two peaks of NMR T2 spectrum indicate that the adsorption pores are relatively developed and their connectivity is poor. The three peaks show the seepage pores and cracks well developed, which are beneficial to improve the porosity and permeability of coal reservoir. When the pore diameter is 2–100 nm, the fractal dimensions D1 and D2 obtained by nitrogen adsorption experiment. there are positive correlations between water content and specific surface area and surface fractal dimension D1, The fractal dimension D2 was positively and negatively correlated with ash content and average pore diameters respectively. The fractal dimensions DN1 and DN2 were obtained by using the NMR in the range of 0.1 μm˜10 μm. DN1 are positively correlated with specific surface area of adsorption pores. DN2 are positively correlated volume of seepage pores. The fractal dimension DM and dissolution hole fractal dimension Dc were calculated by SEM image method, respectively controlled by clay mineral and feldspar content. There is a remarkable positive correlation between D1 and DN1 and Langmuir volume of coal, so fractal dimension can effectively quantify the adsorption capacity of coal.


Minerals ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 298
Author(s):  
Chenlong Ding ◽  
Jinxian He ◽  
Hongchen Wu ◽  
Xiaoli Zhang

Ordos Basin is an important continental shale gas exploration site in China. The micropore structure of the shale reservoir is of great importance for shale gas evaluation. The Taiyuan Formation of the lower Permian is the main exploration interval for this area. To examine the nanometer pore structures in the Taiyuan Formation shale reservoirs in the Lin-Xing area, Northern Shaanxi, the microscopic pore structure characteristics were analyzed via nitrogen adsorption experiments. The pore structure parameters, such as specific surface area, pore volume, and aperture distribution, of shale were calculated; the significance of the pore structure for shale gas storage was analyzed; and the main controlling factors of pore development were assessed. The results indicated the surface area and hole volume of the shale sample to be 0.141–2.188 m2/g and 0.001398–0.008718 cm3/g, respectively. According to the IUPAC (International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry) classification, mesopores and macropores were dominant in the pore structure, with the presence of a certain number of micropores. The adsorption curves were similar to the standard IV (a)-type isotherm line, and the hysteresis loop type was mainly similar to H3 and H4 types, indicating that most pores are dominated by open type pores, such as parallel plate-shaped pores and wedge-shaped slit pores. The micropores and mesopores provide the vast majority of the specific surface area, functioning as the main area for the adsorption of gas in the shale. The mesopores and macropores provide the vast majority of the pore volume, functioning as the main storage areas for the gas in the shale. Total organic carbon had no notable linear correlation with the total pore volume and the specific surface area. Vitrinite reflectance (Ro) had no notable correlation with the specific surface area, but did have a low “U” curve correlation with the total pore volume. There was no relationship between the quartz content and specific surface area and total pore volume. In addition, there was no notable correlation between the clay mineral content and total specific surface area and total pore volume.


2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. T547-T563 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jiyuan Wang ◽  
Shaobin Guo

To systematically study the whole-aperture pore-structure characteristics of the marine-continental transitional shale facies in the Upper Palaeozoic Taiyuan and Shanxi Formations of the Qinshui Basin, we have collected a total of 11 samples for high-pressure mercury intrusion, low-pressure gas adsorption ([Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text]), nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), and field-emission scanning electron microscopy with argon-ion polishing experiments to determine the pore morphology and distribution characteristics of shale samples in detail and to perform quantitative analyses. Then compared the pore-development characteristics of the Taiyuan Formation samples with those of the Shanxi Formation to determine which is preferable. The experimental results indicate that the shale samples of the Qinshui Basin mainly develop three types of pores: organic pores, intergranular pores, and microfractures. High-pressure mercury intrusion and gas-adsorption experiments indicate that the pore-size distributions exhibit multiple peaks. The samples contained varying proportions of macropores, mesopores, and micropores, among which the former two are dominant, accounting for approximately 85% of the total pore volume, whereas micropores account for only 15%. However, mesopores and micropores dominate the specific surface area; between them, the micropores are much more prevalent, accounting for more than 99% of the total specific surface area. Macropores contribute less than 1% of the specific surface area and therefore can be neglected. The pore morphology resembles the slit type parallel platy pores with a ballpoint pen structure. The NMR [Formula: see text] spectra have multiple-peak values. In addition, the large difference between the curved areas before and after centrifugation indicates that the samples contain a large proportion of mesopores and macropores, which is consistent with the results presented above. The results demonstrate that the development of pores in the Taiyuan Formation is better than that in the Shanxi Formation.


2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shouxu Pan ◽  
Ming Zha ◽  
Changhai Gao ◽  
Jiangxiu Qu ◽  
Xiujian Ding

In order to examine the pore structure and reveal the fractal geometric nature of shales, a series of laboratory experiments were conducted on lacustrine shale samples cored from the Kongdian Formation. Based on the low temperature nitrogen adsorption, fluorescent thin section and field emission scanning electronic microscope, a comprehensive pore structure classification and evaluation were conducted on shale samples. Fractal dimensions D1 and D2 (with relative pressure of 0–0.45 and 0.45–1.00, respectively) were obtained from the nitrogen adsorption data using the fractal Frenkel-Halsey-Hill (FHH) method. With additional means of X-ray diffraction analysis, total organic carbon content analysis and thermal maturity analysis, the relationships between pore structure parameters, fractal dimensions, TOC content and mineral composition are presented and discussed in this paper. The results show that interparticle pores and microfractures are predominant, whereas organic matter pores are rarely found. The pore morphology is primarily featured with wide-open ends and slit-shaped structures. In terms of pore scale, mesopores and macropores are predominant. The value of fractal dimension D1 representing small pores ranges from 2.0173 to 2.4642 with an average of 2.1735. The value of D2 which represents large pores ranges from 2.3616 to 2.5981 with an average of 2.4960. These low numbers are an indication of few pore types and relatively low heterogeneity. In addition, smaller D1 values reveal that large pores have more complicated spatial structures than smaller ones. The results of correlation analysis show that: 1) D2 is correlated positively with specific surface area but negatively with average pore diameter; 2) D1 and D2 literally show no obvious relationship with mineral composition, TOC content or vitrinite reflectance (Ro); 3) both total Barrett-Joyner-Halenda (BJH) volume and specific surface area show a positive relationship with dolomite content and a negative relationship with felsic minerals content. These results demonstrate that the pore types are relatively few and dominated by mesopores, and the content of brittle minerals such as dolomite and felsic minerals control the pore structure development whilst organic matter and clay minerals have less influence due to low thermal maturity and abundance of clay minerals.


2015 ◽  
Vol 2015 ◽  
pp. 1-12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jian Xiong ◽  
Xiangjun Liu ◽  
Lixi Liang

We mainly focus on the Permian, Lower Cambrian, Lower Silurian, and Upper Ordovician Formation; the fractal dimensions of marine shales in southern China were calculated using the FHH fractal model based on the low-pressure nitrogen adsorption analysis. The results show that the marine shales in southern China have the dual fractal characteristics. The fractal dimensionD1at low relative pressure represents the pore surface fractal characteristics, whereas the fractal dimensionD2at higher relative pressure describes the pore structure fractal characteristics. The fractal dimensionsD1range from 2.0918 to 2.718 with a mean value of 2.4762, and the fractal dimensionsD2range from 2.5842 to 2.9399 with a mean value of 2.8015. There are positive relationships between fractal dimensionD1and specific surface area and total pore volume, whereas the fractal dimensionsD2have negative correlation with average pore size. The larger the value of the fractal dimensionD1is, the rougher the pore surface is, which could provide more adsorption sites, leading to higher adsorption capacity for gas. The larger the value of the fractal dimensionD2is, the more complicated the pore structure is, resulting in the lower flow capacity for gas.


Clay Minerals ◽  
1977 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Paterson

AbstractLow temperature nitrogen adsorption has been used to study the external and internal structure of a number of allophanic soil clays. The results indicate that allophane, in addition to having pores in the intermediate size range (2–10 nm radius), contains micropores of < 1 nm radius. The occurrence of hitherto unreported micropores in allophanic clays has necessitated re-evaluation of the validity of specific surface area measurements.


2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. T671-T685
Author(s):  
Difei Zhao ◽  
Shuai Yin ◽  
Yinghai Guo ◽  
Chengyao Ren ◽  
Ruyue Wang ◽  
...  

The pore structure and fractal characteristics of the Lower Cambrian marine organic-rich shale in southern China were comprehensively studied using low-pressure [Formula: see text] adsorption and organic geochemical experiments, X-ray diffraction, petrophysical property tests, and scanning electron microscope observations. The results indicate that the total organic carbon (TOC) content of the study shale varies between 0.45% and 8.50%, with an average value of 3.97%. The adsorption isotherm of the shale samples belongs to type IV, and slit-type pores are the predominant pore type in these shales. The shale has a Brunner–Emmet–Teller specific surface area ranging from 1.83 to [Formula: see text], a pore volume ranging from 0.00398 to [Formula: see text], and an average pore diameter ranging from 3.61 to 15.19 nm. Organic matter pores (OMPs) are the main contributors to the specific surface area and the pore volume. The organic matter is closely symbiotic with the epigenetic quartz. We have obtained two fractal dimensions ([Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text]) of the shale using the Frenkel-Halsey-Hill method. It was found that [Formula: see text] is suitable for the quantitative characterizing of the pore structure of nanopores inside the shale due to its good correlation with the TOC content and pore structure parameters. When the TOC content of the shale exceeds 4%, the main pore type inside the shale is OMP and the [Formula: see text] value mainly reflects the fractal characteristics of OMP. Moreover, we analyzed the seepage characteristics of different types of pores. It was found that the parallel plate-like pores and the slit-type pores are more favorable for fluid seepage than the ink bottle-like pores. The shale with [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] type pore structures should be the key exploration targets for the target shale in the study area.


2012 ◽  
Vol 463-464 ◽  
pp. 543-547 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cheng Feng Li ◽  
Xiao Lu Ge ◽  
Shu Guang Liu ◽  
Fei Yu Liu

Core-shell structured hydroxyapatite (HA)/meso-silica was prepared and used as absorbance of methylene blue (MB). HA/meso-silica was synthesized in three steps: preparation of nano-sized HA by wet precipitation method, coating of dense silica and deposition of meso-silica shell on HA. As-received samples were characterized by Fourier transformed infare spectra, small angle X-ray diffraction, nitrogen adsorption-desorption isotherm and transmission electron microscopy. A wormhole framework mesostructure was found for HA/meso-silica. The specific surface area and pore volume were 128 m2•g-1 and 0.36 cm3•g-1, respectively. From the adsorption isotherm, HA/meso-silica with the great specific surface area exhibited a prominent adsorption capacity of MB (134.0 mg/g) in comparison with bare HA (0 mg/g). This study might shed light on surface modification of conventional low-cost adsorbents for removal of organic pollutants from aqueous solutions.


Polymers ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 1067 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vyacheslav V. Rodaev ◽  
Svetlana S. Razlivalova ◽  
Andrey O. Zhigachev ◽  
Vladimir M. Vasyukov ◽  
Yuri I. Golovin

For the first time, zirconia nanofibers with an average diameter of about 75 nm have been fabricated by calcination of electrospun zirconium acetylacetonate/polyacrylonitrile fibers in the range of 500–1100 °C. Composite and ceramic filaments have been characterized by scanning electron microscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, nitrogen adsorption analysis, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, and X-ray diffractometry. The stages of the transition of zirconium acetylacetonate to zirconia have been revealed. It has been found out that a rise in calcination temperature from 500 to 1100 °C induces transformation of mesoporous tetragonal zirconia nanofibers with a high specific surface area (102.3 m2/g) to non-porous monoclinic zirconia nanofibers of almost the same diameter with a low value of specific surface area (8.3 m2/g). The tetragonal zirconia nanofibers with high specific surface area prepared at 500 °C can be considered, for instance, as promising supports for heterogeneous catalysts, enhancing their activity.


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