Gas-water flow in fractured coal revealed by multimodal imaging

This research presents a new method for studying gas-water two-phase flow in fractured coal, integrating cutting-edge imaging techniques. We combine dynamic positron emission tomography (PET), high-resolution X-ray micro-computed tomography (micro-CT), and unsteady-state fluid flow experiments. First, micro-CT under reservoir pressure conditions maps the sample's fracture structure at high-resolution. Then, helium injection into a water-saturated sample simulates gas flow in a coal seam during production. Real-time PET monitoring captures the dynamic displacement process within the fractures. This approach yields crucial data on gas injection volume, pressure variations, and water production, enabling relative permeability curve prediction. Finally, multi-scale image analysis merges high-resolution micro-CT with dynamic PET images, overlaying the flow path onto the fracture network. This innovative method leverages the strengths of both PET and micro-CT, offering unprecedented visualization of gas-water flow behaviour in fractured coal. PET images play a crucial role in providing both spatial and temporal water saturation profiles since the activity mapping directly correlates with water volume distribution in the fractures. The consistency between the initial activity profile along the sample from PET and the fracture volume distribution calculated from micro-CT images confirms the reliability of PET data. The workflow proposed in this paper can be used to monitor two phase flow displacement in unconventional rocks such as coal and be applied for determination of relative permeability curves.