Understanding how much gas shale reservoirs can hold is crucial for efficient gas extraction and carbon sequestration. Our computer simulations reveal that traditional methods, which use helium as a proxy, overestimate these capacities by a factor of two, highlighting the need for recalibration of previous measurements. We also found that CO₂ adsorbs more efficiently in shale, suggesting it could significantly boost gas recovery and help store greenhouse gases.

Publication:

B Liu, S Babaei, M Kanduč, S Tian, L Bai, Y Xu, M Ostadhassan, “Helium expansion Revisited: Effects of accessible volume on excess adsorption in kerogen matrices”, Chem. Eng. J. 493, 152690 (2024)