Kinetics of methane and carbon dioxide sorption and sorption–induced expansion of coal – kinetic equations assessment

Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate the ability of kinetic equations to describe the sorption kinetics and expansion rate of solid coal samples. In order to address his issue the sorption kinetics of methane and carbon dioxide on bituminous coals were studied. At the same time, the changes occurring in the sample’s overall dimensions, which accompanied sorption processes, were monitored. Experiments were carried out at high pressure by means of the volumetric method on a cubicoid solid samples. Several literature-based modeling approaches and equations are proposed to fit the kinetic curves of gas deposition, as well as the adequate kinetics of coal swelling. First equation represents the traditional approach to interpret experimental data in terms of fast and slow sorption process and consider the combination of two first-order rate functions. The other empirical kinetic equations are: the pseudo-second-order kinetic equation (PSOE), Elovich equation and the stretched exponential equation (SE). Two of the four equations are suitable to describe the kinetics of methane and carbon dioxide sorption and have been successfully used to quantify the observed dilatometric phenomena rates. The stretched exponential equation gave the best fit to the experimental data.