Oil & Gas Research
Open Access

Research Article

Synchrotron Powered Transmission X-ray Micro-tomography System in Shale Gas Micro-structural Characterisation

Marek S Zbik^1,2*, Trzcinski JT¹, Williams DJ², Song YF³, Wang ChC³ and Frost RL Ray^4*

¹Faculty of Geology, Institute of Hydrogeology and Engineering Geology, University of Warsaw, Zwirki i Wigury 93, Warsaw, 02-089, Poland

²Geotechnical Engineering Centre, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia

³National Synchrotron Radiation Research Center, 101 Hsin-Ann Road, Hsinchu Science Park, Hsinchu 30076, Taiwan, R.O.C

⁴Faculty of Science and Engineering, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia

*Corresponding Author:

Marek SZ
Faculty of Geology, Institute of Hydrogeology and Engineering Geology
University of Warsaw, Zwirki, Poland
E-mail: marek.zbik@uw.edu.pl

 

Ray LF
Faculty of Science and Engineering
Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia
E-mail: hsy@knu.ac.kr

Received date: November 16, 2015; Accepted date: December 31, 2015; Published date: February 05, 2016

Citation: Zbik MS, Trzcinski JT, Williams DJ, Song YF, Wang ChC, et al. (2016) Synchrotron Powered Transmission X-ray Micro-tomography System in Shale Gas Micro-structural Characterisation. Oil Gas Res 2:109. doi: 10.4172/2472-0518.1000109

Copyright: © 2016 Zbik MS, et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

The shale gas renaissance was brought about by improved methods of well drilling and completion by hydraulic cracking technology. It has become increasingly urgent to developed new method of 3-D characterisation of potential rocks collectors. Release of gas from compacted shales needs new aproach to void promoting and increasing technology and new monitoring characterisation. In present study the transmission x-ray microscope (TXM) method was validated in microstructural study of mudstone shale sample. High structural complexity was observed. Initial structure displays anisotropic aggregate network with highly elongated voids 0.2 to 1.5 μm in diameter and the bulk porosity about 12-20% and pore average diameter vary between 125 to 283 nm. Texture of this rock is laminar and two distinctive lamellas direction was observed with angle between them about 20º. The average distances measured between mine stream lamellas was around 400 nm which is twice than average voids dimension. It was noticed that ultrasonic action on the shale rock has significant influence altering it microstructure. Voids becoming larger after ultrasonic treatment with porosity system increased in value above 30%, pushing up the rock permeability.

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