The complexity and multiscale structure of coal pores significantly influence the gas diffusion and seepage characteristics of coal. To apply small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) to study the coal pore structure parameters within the scale of 1–100 nm in the methane adsorption
process, the X-ray window was optimized and a gas adsorption chamber was designed to interface with the small angle X-ray scattering platform. The fractal dimension and porosity of Hami coal samples under different methane pressures were studied using the small angle X-ray scattering platform
and adsorption chamber. The surface and nanopore fractal information of the nanopores in coal were distinguished. The variation trends of the pores and surface fractal dimension with time under the same methane pressure were compared. The results indicate that the surface dimension changes
from 2.56 to 2.75, and the extremum point may indicate that the primary nanopore structure is crushed by the adsorbed gas after approximately 15 minutes. This work clarifies that the fractal dimension can characterize the changes in nanopores in the process of gas adsorption by using SAXS.
According to the fractal characteristics, the adsorption of gas in coal nanopores is summarized as four steps: expansion from adsorbance, deformation, crushing and recombination. The minimum porosity is 0.95% and the extreme value point is 1.47%. This work also shows that decrease in surface
energy affect the porosity changes in nano-size pores. This work is of some significance to coalbed methane permeability improvement and gas extraction.
LabDisk for SAXS: a centrifugal microfluidic sample preparation platform for small-angle X-ray scattering