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Nanoscale pore characteristics and fractal characteristics of organic-rich shale: An example from the lower Cambrian Niutitang Formation in the Fenggang block in northern Guizhou Province, South China

Organic-rich marine shale in South China has great potential for gas generation, and the pore structure has a considerable influence on the enrichment of shale gas. The nanoscale pore characteristics and fractal characteristics of the Niutitang shales in the Fenggang block were studied by means of methane adsorption and low-pressure nitrogen adsorption experiments, porosity and permeability tests, X-ray diffraction analyses, organic geochemical analyses, and field emission scanning electron microscopy. The fractal geometry of the pore structure was assessed, and the factors influencing the pore structure were determined. We used a fractal Frenkel–Halsey–Hill-based method to obtain the fractal dimensions D1 and D2 by nitrogen adsorption at relative pressures of 0–0.5 and 0.5–1, respectively. The relationships between the shale pore structure parameters and the fractal dimensions, the mineral composition, the total organic carbon content, and the pore structure parameters of shale are discussed. In addition, the significance of D1 and D2 and the implications of the fractal dimension for the adsorption capacity of shale are investigated. The results show that the two fractal dimensions are positively correlated with total organic carbon content and specific surface area, negatively correlated with quartz content and average pore diameter, but have a weak relationship with clay mineral content and total pore volume. The Niutitang shale samples are dominated by mesopores, and the pore structure is complicated. The results presented here indicate that fractal analyses represent an effective method of characterizing the complexity of pore structure.