Investigating Hierarchical Gas Confinement in High-Rank Coal through Small-Angle Neutron Scattering

Hierarchical gas confinement in porous coal material is critical for gas adsorption and storage in underground coal seams. Small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) with contrast-matching method has been employed to quantify the possible gas confinement in macro-/meso-/micropores on high-rank anthracite with the forms of powder and thin sections. Model-free and data-fitting methods were used to estimate the hierarchical scattering contrast, the...