Aromaticity volatile bituminous coals

Aromaticity of coal molecules increases with coal rank. Calculations based on several models indicate that the number of aromatic carbons per cluster varies from nine for lignite to 20 for low volatile bituminous coal, and the number of attachments per cluster varies from three for lignite to five for subbituminous through medium bituminous coal. The value is four for low volatile bituminous (21). 

Aliphatic structures are still of major importance in the second group of resinites, those of the bituminous coals, but aromatic structures are present in significant amounts. The spectra of these resinites display the type of absorption pattern that has come to be associated with other coal macerals, particularly the sporinites and to a large extent the vitrinites. This pattern is established in the resinites of the high volatile bituminous coals. Furthermore, resinites of this group are reactive during carbonization and oxidation processes in which their behavior parallels that of similarly affected vitrinites of equivalent rank. 

This procedure has now been extended to a series of coals varying in rank from lignite (70% C) to a low volatile bituminous coal (91% C). In addition to determining the amount of aromatic and aliphatic hydrogens, the aromatic group will be further subdivided into monocyclic and polycyclic types. A more... 

In high-volatile bituminous coals (C = 80-83%), the break ing of aliphatic carbon bridges is seen as the major means of depolymerization. Many of these bridges may be linked to phenolic rings, others to condensed aromatic rings such as phenanthrene. 

Coals (the plural is deliberately used because coal has no defined, uniform nature or structure) are fossil sources with low hydrogen content. The structure of coals means only the structural models depicting major bonding types and components relating changes with coal rank. Coal is classified, or ranked, as lignite, subbituminous, bituminous, and anthracite. This is also the order of increased aromaticity and decreased volatile matter. The H C ratio of bituminous coal is about 0.8, whereas anthracite has H C ratios as low as 0.2. 

The high-volatile Liddell bituminous coal (Figure 2 (E)) shows little indication of thermally-activated molecular mobility below 500 K. There is some fusion between 500 and 600 K followed by a major fusion transition above 600 K which appears very similar to the high temperature transition of the Amberley coal. This Liddell coal, however, has only 6% liptinite, has a crucible swelling number of 6.5 and exhibits considerable Gieseler fluidity. We therefore attribute this high temperature fusion event to the aromatic-rich macerals of the coal and associate it with the thermoplastic phenomenon. This implies that a stage has been reached in the coalification processes at which aromatic-rich material becomes fusible. 

The low-volatile bituminous Bulli coal which contains no liptinite and has significant thermoplastic properties has a M2J pyrogram (Figure 2 (F)) showing only one fusion transition which is lesser in extent and shifted to higher temperatures than that of the Liddell coal. This transition is, of course, attributed to aromatic-rich macerals. 

Application of the reductive step to Illinois high-volatile bituminous (Monterey mine) and Wyodak subbituminous coals does not generate significant quantities of radical anions. Furthermore, the spectroscopic g value of the new radical set is more suggestive of oxygen than of pi aromatic character. 

The production of coke by the carbonization of bituminous coal leads to the release of chemically complex emissions from coke ovens that include both gases and particulate matter of varying chemical composition. The chemical and physical properties of coke oven emissions vary depending on the constituents. The emissions include coal tar pitch volatiles (e.g., particulate polycyclic organic matter, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons), aromatic compounds (e.g., benzene and jS-naphthyl amine), trace metals (e.g., arsenic, beryllium, cadmium, chromium, lead, and nickel), and gases (e.g., nitric oxides and sulfur dioxide). 

The Australian Torbanite is an algal shale discussed by Hatcher et al. (12), the Cretaceous black shale is discussed in Dennis et al. (24), and the Waynesburg log is a coalified log from the Connellsville Sandstone Member ofthe Conemaugh Formation, which has a rank of high-volatile A bituminous coal (R. Stanton, personal communication). (fa denotes carbon aromaticity.)... 

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