Отправлено: 14.02.17 08:26. Заголовок: APPLYING VACUUM SATURATION TO STUDY THE PORE STRUCTURE OF TIGHT SHALES

2014 GSA Annual Meeting in Vancouver, British Columbia (19�22 October 2014)
Paper No. 246-13
Presentation Time: 4:20 PM-4:35 PM
APPLYING VACUUM SATURATION TO STUDY THE PORE STRUCTURE OF TIGHT SHALES
BARBER, Troy, Earth and Environmental Sciences, UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT ARLINGTON, 500 YATES ST, GEOSCIENCE BUILDING, Arlington, TX 76019, troy.barber@mavs.uta.edu and HU, Qinhong, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Texas at Arlington, 500 Yates Street, Arlington, TX 76019
The steep decline in productivity of tight shale gas plays are, in part, macroscopic consequences of the nano-scale pore structure of the shale matrix. Vacuum saturation is an integral method in a full suite of techniques used to investigate the pore structure and properties of geologic and man-made media. In addition to fluid saturation as a means of sample preparation for a number of experimental approaches (e.g., porosity measurement, saturated diffusion), this study illustrates the utility of using the vacuum saturation approach to studying the edge-only accessible porosity distribution of tight shales, which is linked to the steep production decline. A custom apparatus has been designed for vacuum saturating samples of porous media. Consideration was given to chamber material properties (e.g., strength, outgassing) in order to strike a balance between cost, usability, and vacuum/pressure reliability. Beyond improving upon the vacuum efficiency of our previous apparatus, the new design adds the ability to apply positive (beyond atmospheric) pressure subsequent to fluid immersion, resulting in a more complete saturation of the nano-sized pores. With the new apparatus, samples were saturated with both oil and water wetting solutions containing both non-sorbing and sorbing tracers. After freeze drying, the tracers occupying the edge-connected, evacuated pore spaces were mapped using micro-scale laser ablation – inductively coupled plasma – mass spectrometry.

https://gsa.confex.com/gsa/2014AM/finalprogram/abstract_248280.htm