High-pressure air blasting (HPAB) is one type of physical blasting technique that enhances the extraction rate of coalbed methane by impacting the coal mass with high-pressure gas to create cracks within it. First, based on the physical and mechanical parameters of the simulated coal rock mass, the RHT constitutive model of the coal rock mass was established, and its parameters were determined. Then, the laws of crack propagation and stress wave decay in coal induced by high-pressure air blasting were revealed by comparing the effect with that of equivalent explosive blasting. Next, the HPAB experiment was simulated to explore the coal crack propagation law under in-situ stress conditions. Finally, the HPAB experiment was carried out and the results of this experiment were compared with the numerical simulation results. The results indicate that the crack propagation induced by high-pressure air blasting is considered as two major stages, i.e., the crack initiation and crack propagation stage induced by the stress wave and the crack stable propagation stage induced by the duration high-pressure gas. In the case of equal energy, the peak stress wave of high-pressure gas is smaller, decays more slowly and has a longer action time, compared to explosive blasting. Therefore, the number of initial random cracks in coal mass induced by high-pressure air blasting is less, and the range of crack propagation induced by high-pressure air blasting is larger. When λ = 0 (λ is the ratio of the horizontal in-situ stress to the vertical in-situ stress), the in-situ stress in the coal seam can promote the propagation of vertical cracks but inhibit the propagation of horizontal cracks. When λ = 0.5 and 1, the in-situ stress inhibits the propagation of both horizontal and vertical cracks.

The low permeability of coal seams has always been the main bottleneck restricting coalbed methane drainage. In this paper, a coal seam anti-reflection technology with solid-propellant blasting was proposed, and the composition and proportion of the solid propellants were determined based on the principle of oxygen balance. The authors designed a solid-propellant blasting damage fracture experiment of simulation coal, tested the impact pressure on a blast hole wall, measured the ultrasonic wave velocity, explosive strain and crack propagation velocity, and then revealed the blasting damage fracture process and mechanism of coal based on the experimental results and damage fracture mechanics theory. The history curve of impact pressure time can be divided into three processes including the slow pressurization process, dramatic increase process, and nonlinear pressure relief process. The pressure distribution along the whole blasting hole was uneven, and the peak pressure was relatively small, but the pressure action time was long. The damage and fracture process of coal solid-propellant blasting can be divided into two stages including the rapid damage fracture development stage and the stable slow damage fracture development stage. Firstly, the explosion stress wave produced and rapidly accelerated the radial cracks extension; secondly, the cracks slowly expanded over a large area by the combined effects of the high-pressure gases, the gas, and the original rock stress.

The pore structure in coal seams has a significant impact on the occurrence and migration characteristics of coalbed methane. The High Pressure Air Blasting (HPAB) is one of the main feasible technologies to improve the efficiency of unconventional gas extraction. Currently, there is little research on the visualization of the evolution of pore structure and seepage characteristics in coal under HPAB, resulting in unclear understanding of the formation of 3D pore network structure in coal under HPAB, the interconnection of pores and fissures, and the mechanism of gas seepage and diffusion under HPAB. Therefore, it is necessary to study the evolution characteristics of pore structure and seepage characteristics of coal under HPAB. The HPAB test was carried out based on a self-developed HPAB device. Statistical analysis of crack propagation law of coal under HPAB from a macroscopic perspective. During the experiment, a microscopic visualization model of coal before and after HPAB was established using CT scanning and Avizo software. The vessel axial skeleton algorithm in Avizo software was adopted to extract the connectivity channels between connected pores and fissures, which realizes the 3D visualization of coalbed methane seepage in the spatial topology structure at the microscopic scale. The seepage, migration, diffusion process and distribution law of coalbed methane in the micro-pore structure of coal have been studied. The mechanism of coalbed methane seepage and migration has been revealed from a microscopic perspective. The research results indicate that: (1) There are four main cracks on the coal surface that approximately run along the direction of principal stress under HPAB and confining pressure. The direction of crack development and propagation in coal under HPAB is influenced by natural defects such as joints and bedding. (2) Before HPAB, the representative elementary volume (REV) of coal has a high degree of curvature in the connectivity channel of pore and fissure. After HPAB, the degree of curvature in the REV is significantly reduced, with a decrease of up to 26.72%. (3) The original micro-pores and newly formed fractures developed and expanded outward under HPAB, forming a relatively developed 3D fracture network channel. Compared with before HPAB, the streamline distribution inside the REV is denser and more numerous. The maximum flow rate and maximum velocity of coalbed methane migration have increased by 112.90 times and 5.24 times, respectively. The research results provide experimental and theoretical basis for improving the efficient extraction of coalbed methane in low-permeability coal seams by HPAB.

The use of clean energy is an important part of promoting sustainable energy development. As a clean energy source, coalbed methane, during the mining process, the position of the nozzle can influence coalbed methane extraction efficiency by affecting the cracking effect of coal. To investigate the impact of nozzles on the effect of coal fracture, a test of simulated coal by high-pressure air blasting was executed using nozzles 100 mm, 200 mm, and 250 mm from the orifice. Based on the test results and theories of fracture damage mechanics, two damage fracture models were established for the nozzles located in the middle-upper and middle-lower of the blasthole, respectively. The fracturing process and increased permeability mechanism of the coal were revealed by these two models. The results show that: when the nozzle is 100 mm from the orifice, the high-pressure air impacts the blasthole wall first, similar to a uniform expansion. Multiple longitudinal cracks are formed penetrating the coal. The permeability of the coal seam is greatly improved. When the nozzle is 200 mm and 250 mm from the orifice, the high-pressure air first impacts the bottom of the blasthole. The bottom hole angle and apex hole angle first form horizontal cracks while longitudinal cracks only appear at the same depth as the blasthole. The nozzle is 250 mm from the orifice to form a compaction zone at the bottom of the blasthole. The crack density is small and the tangential depth is shallow, which is not conducive to coalbed methane mining. The results of the research offer a theoretical framework and point of reference for the use of high-pressure air blasting technology in the extraction of coalbed methane (CBM).

Geological storage of CO₂ in coal seam is an effective way for carbon emission reduction. Evaluating the adsorption-induced swelling behavior of confined coal is essential for this carbon emission reduction strategy. Based on the thermodynamic theory and the Gibbs adsorption model, a thermodynamic method for evaluating the gas adsorption-induced swelling behavior of confined coal was established. The influences of factors such as stress, gas pressure, and the state of gas on the adsorption-induced swelling behavior of confined coal were discussed. The predicted swelling deformation from the thermodynamic method based on the ideal gas hypothesis was consistent with the experimental result only under the condition of low-pressure CO₂ (2 MPa). However, the method based on the real gas hypothesis always had better prediction results under both the low- and high-pressure CO₂ conditions. From the perspective of phase equilibrium and transfer, in the process of CO₂ adsorption by the confined coal, gas molecules transfer from the adsorption site of high chemical potential to the low chemical potential. Taking the real gas as ideal gas will result in the surface energy increase in the established model. Consequently, the prediction result will be larger. Therefore, for geological storage of CO₂ in coal seam, it is necessary to take the real gas state to predict the adsorption-induced swelling behavior of the coal. In the process of CO₂ adsorption by the confined coal, when its pressure is being closed to the critical pressure, capillary condensation phenomenon will occur on the pore surface of the confined coal. This can make an excessive adsorption of CO₂ by the coal. With the increase in the applied stress, the adsorption capacity and adsorption-induced swelling deformation of the confined coal decrease. Compared to N₂ with CO₂, the coal by CO₂ adsorption always shows swelling deformation under the simulated condition of ultra-high-pressure injection. However, the coal by N₂ adsorption will shows shrinking deformation due to the pore pressure effect after the equilibrium pressure. Taking the difference in the adsorption-induced swelling behavior and pore compression effect, N₂ can be mixed to improve the injectivity of CO₂. This suggests that CO₂ storage in the deep burial coal seam can be carried out by its intermittent injection under high-pressure condition along with mixed N₂.