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Latest Advances and Prospects in Nanogeoscience
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Latest Advances and Prospects in Nanogeoscience

A special issue of Nanomaterials (ISSN 2079-4991). This special issue belongs to the section "Environmental Nanoscience and Nanotechnology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 June 2023) | Viewed by 4212

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Qinhong Hu

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, TX 76019, USA
Interests: porous media; fluid flow; mass transport; pore structure; pore connectivity; low-permeability media; fracture-matrix interaction; energy geosciences
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Jingqiang Tan

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Geosciences and Info–Physics, Central South University, Changsha 410083, China
Interests: unconventional oil and gas geology; geochemistry; unconventional reservoir reconstruction and its environmental impact; CO2 geological utilization and storage
Dr. Zhiye Gao

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Unconventional Petroleum Research Institute, China University of Petroleum (Beijing), Beijing 102249, China
Interests: evaluation of unconventional oil and gas reservoirs; characterization of micro-nano pore structure; reservoir wettability; pore connectivity; oil and gas enrichment mechanism

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Nanogeoscience has blossomed in recent years, especially with the global success of shale oil and gas. Nanometer-sized pores provide important storage space and migration pathways for shale hydrocarbons. Many advanced technologies have been explored to characterize the complicated shale pore structure as well as the occurrence state of shale hydrocarbons within these pore spaces. However, due to the complicated pore structure and strong heterogeneity of shale, even at the nanometer scale, it is somewhat challenging to accurately and quantitatively reveal the whole pore system of shale and decipher its controlling factors. In addition, the migration and occurrence mechanisms of shale oil and gas in shale pore spaces, which control the accumulation process and distribution characteristics of shale hydrocarbons, are still disputable. Therefore, Nanomaterials announces a Special Issue entitled “Latest Advances and Prospects in Nanogeoscience” to present up-to-date advances in the characterization of shale pore systems.

This Special Issue will mainly focus on the underlying scientific and technological issues related to the microscopic characteristics of shale reservoirs to clarify the accumulation and production processes of shale hydrocarbons at the nanometer scale.

The topics of interest include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • New technologies and new conceptual methods regarding the microscopic characterization of shale.
  • The microscopic distribution characteristics of different types of fluids (water, oil, and gas) in shale.
  • The migration and occurrence mechanisms of shale hydrocarbons.
  • The evolution characteristics of organic matter pores and inorganic pores in shale.
  • The enrichment mechanism of shale oil and gas.

Prof. Dr. Qinhong Hu
Prof. Dr. Jingqiang Tan
Dr. Zhiye Gao
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Nanomaterials is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • nanogeoscience
  • shale pore system
  • microscopic characteristics
  • pore structure
  • pore connectivity
  • energy geosciences

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

18 pages, 7419 KiB  
Article
Sample Size Effects on Petrophysical Characterization and Fluid-to-Pore Accessibility of Natural Rocks
by Qiming Wang, Qinhong Hu, Chen Zhao, Yang Wang, Tao Zhang, Jan Ilavsky, Mengdi Sun, Linhao Zhang and Yi Shu
Nanomaterials 2023, 13(10), 1651; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano13101651 - 16 May 2023
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2170
Abstract
Laboratory-scale analysis of natural rocks provides petrophysical properties such as density, porosity, pore diameter/pore-throat diameter distribution, and fluid accessibility, in addition to the size and shape of framework grains and their contact relationship with the rock matrix. Different types of laboratory approaches for [...] Read more.
Laboratory-scale analysis of natural rocks provides petrophysical properties such as density, porosity, pore diameter/pore-throat diameter distribution, and fluid accessibility, in addition to the size and shape of framework grains and their contact relationship with the rock matrix. Different types of laboratory approaches for petrophysical characterization involve the use of a range of sample sizes. While the sample sizes selected should aim to be representative of the rock body, there are inherent limitations imposed by the analytical principles and holding capacities of the different experimental apparatuses, with many instruments only able to accept samples at the μm–mm scale. Therefore, a total of nine (three limestones, three shales, two sandstones, and one dolomite) samples were collected from Texas to fill the knowledge gap of the sample size effect on the resultant petrophysical characteristics. The sample sizes ranged from 3 cm cubes to <75 μm particles. Using a combination of petrographic microscopy, helium expansion pycnometry, water immersion porosimetry, mercury intrusion porosimetry, and (ultra-) small-angle X-ray scattering, the impact of sample size on the petrophysical properties of these samples was systematically investigated here. The results suggest that the sample size effect is influenced by both pore structure changes during crushing and sample size-dependent fluid-to-pore connectivity. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Latest Advances and Prospects in Nanogeoscience)
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21 pages, 6898 KiB  
Article
Pore Structure and Gas Content Characteristics of Lower Jurassic Continental Shale Reservoirs in Northeast Sichuan, China
by Tao Jiang, Zhijun Jin, Hengyuan Qiu, Xuanhua Chen, Yuanhao Zhang and Zhanfei Su
Nanomaterials 2023, 13(4), 779; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano13040779 - 20 Feb 2023
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2135
Abstract
The Jurassic shale in the northeastern Sichuan Basin is one of the main target intervals for continental shale gas exploitation. Research on the pore structure and gas-bearing properties of shales is the key issue in target interval optimization. Through core observation, geochemistry, bulk [...] Read more.
The Jurassic shale in the northeastern Sichuan Basin is one of the main target intervals for continental shale gas exploitation. Research on the pore structure and gas-bearing properties of shales is the key issue in target interval optimization. Through core observation, geochemistry, bulk minerals, scanning electron microscopy, nitrogen adsorption, and isothermal adsorption experiments, various lithofacies with different pore structure characteristics were clarified. In addition, the factors that control gas-bearing properties were discussed, and a continental shale gas enrichment model was finally established. The results show that the Jurassic continental shale in the northeastern Sichuan Basin can be classified into six lithofacies. Organic pores, intergranular pores, interlayer pores in clay minerals, intercrystalline pores in pyrite framboids, and dissolution pores can be observed in shale samples. Pore structures varied in different shale lithofacies. The contact angle of shales is commonly less than 45°, leading to complex wettability of pores in the shales. Free gas content is mainly controlled by the organic matter (OM) content and the brittleness in the Jurassic shale. The adsorbed gas content is mainly controlled by the OM content, clay mineral type, and water saturation of the shales. The enrichment mode of the Lower Jurassic continental shale gas in the northeastern Sichuan Basin is established. Paleoenvironments control the formation of organic-rich shales in the center part of lakes. The “baffle” layer helps the confinement and high pressure, and the complex syncline controls the preservation, forming the enrichment pattern of the complex syncline-central baffle layer. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Latest Advances and Prospects in Nanogeoscience)
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17 pages, 3424 KiB  
Article
Carbon Isotope Fractionation Characteristics of Normally Pressured Shale Gas from the Southeastern Margin of the Sichuan Basin; Insights into Shale Gas Storage Mechanisms
by Changyu Yang, Chenjun Wu, Qilin Xiao, Xu Zhang, Juan Teng and Jiaxin Li
Nanomaterials 2023, 13(1), 143; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano13010143 - 28 Dec 2022
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1876
Abstract
Since the development of shale gas in the Wufeng–Longmaxi Formation in the Sichuan Basin, China’s shale gas production and reserves have increased rapidly. The southeastern margin of the Sichuan Basin is located in a normally pressured transition zone, where single well gas production [...] Read more.
Since the development of shale gas in the Wufeng–Longmaxi Formation in the Sichuan Basin, China’s shale gas production and reserves have increased rapidly. The southeastern margin of the Sichuan Basin is located in a normally pressured transition zone, where single well gas production varies greatly under complex geological structures. In order to reveal the shale gas enrichment mechanism and favorable shale gas regions, shale gas samples from production wells were collected from different structures, with the formation pressure coefficient ranging between 0.98 and 1.35. The gas components and carbon isotope characteristics of normally pressured shale gas were investigated. The carbon isotope characteristics of the Wufeng–Longmaxi shale gas from the basin scale was mainly controlled using thermal maturity; as the thermal maturity increased, heavier carbon isotopes were found, in addition to drier shale gas. For normally pressured shale gas, the composition of δ13C1 and δ13C2 becomes heavier, and the dryness coefficient decreases with the decreasing pressure coefficient; this is not consistent with the results from thermal evolution. By comparing possible influencing factors, it is evident that the change in geological structure destroys the original shale gas reservoir, which leads to the escape of some gases, and it may be the main factor that contributes to the gas geochemical characteristics of the normally pressured shale gas. Compared with the geological parameters of the shale samples, such as mineral composition, organic abundance, organic pore distribution, and gas content, the carbon isotope characteristics of normally pressured shale gas show a higher efficiency, thus indicating favorable sweet spot evaluations for shale gas in the studied areas. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Latest Advances and Prospects in Nanogeoscience)
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23 pages, 61451 KiB  
Article
Microstructural Analysis of Organic-Rich Shales: Insights from an Electron Microscopic Study by Application of FIBSEM and TEM
by Jinxuan Han, Hongjian Zhu, Yanjun Lu, Su Yang, Manping Yang, Erxiu Shi and Yu Qi
Nanomaterials 2022, 12(23), 4135; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano12234135 - 23 Nov 2022
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1915
Abstract
Matrix-related pores play a significant role in controlling hydrocarbon production in organic-rich shales. Multiple matrix-related pore types of typical marine shales in the Sichuan Basin have been visually investigated and identified by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) on ultra-thin sections and by focused ion [...] Read more.
Matrix-related pores play a significant role in controlling hydrocarbon production in organic-rich shales. Multiple matrix-related pore types of typical marine shales in the Sichuan Basin have been visually investigated and identified by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) on ultra-thin sections and by focused ion beam-scanning electron microscopy (FIBSEM) on polished sections. OM-hosted pores seem universal and range in sizes from below 1 nm to hundreds of nanometers and they are not homogeneously developed and distributed, which is mainly determined by thermal maturity and OM composition. Mineral-hosted pores are defined by mineral frameworks and occur in open spaces related to ductile or rigid grain fabric. The four porous mineral types that occur are clay intrapores, carbonate solvopores, pyrite interpores, and quartz interpores, and they range in size from less than 1 nm to more than several microns. Aggregate-hosted pores are predominantly associated with clay-organic aggregates, pyrite-organic aggregates, clay-pyrite aggregates, and clay-organic-pyrite aggregates. The most common aggregate-hosted pore networks are defined by clay-organic aggregates, and the pores are largely developed between the clay and organic layers and may be the important adsorption spaces for methane. Fracture-related pores include microchannels and microfractures of various sizes and shapes and they could play a key role in providing hydrocarbon migration pathways. FIBSEM and TEM show direct evidence that OM-hosted pores and fracture-related pores contribute more to the effective pore network and the excellent reservoir quality, whereas poor reservoir quality may come from aggregate-hosted pores. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Latest Advances and Prospects in Nanogeoscience)
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