Univariate and Multivariate Analyses of Influencing Factors on Methane Adsorption Capacity of Semianthracite

Methane adsorption isotherm experiments on semianthracite (2.00-2.33%Ro,max) collected from the Xin’an coal mine, Henan Province, China, were conducted to investigate the effects of pore structure, coal quality, coal maceral, and coal rank on methane adsorption capacity with applications of univariate and multivariate analyses. Methane adsorption capacity varies significantly from 12.03 to 28.40 cm3/g. In univariate analysis, methane adsorption capacity has a strong positive correlation with pore specific surface area, weak positive correlations with pore volume and ash content, and weak negative correlations with moisture content and inertinite content. No correlation is observed between methane adsorption capacity and coal rank. In multivariate analysis, the mathematical model of methane adsorption capacity affected by the combined individual variables is established based on quantification theory I. There are similarities and differences between the two analyses. The similarities are that pore specific surface area has the greatest contribution to methane adsorption capacity, while coal rank has the least contribution. The differences are reflected in two aspects. Firstly, the other influencing factors contribute differently to methane adsorption capacity. Secondly, the positive or negative correlations of some influencing factors present the opposite. The mathematic model synthetically covers the combined effects of the influencing factors, which is more representative in evaluating methane adsorption capacity.