Two-component concept of coal structure

Much of the research pursued by the authors of this paper and by their associates has involved studies of the catalytic hydrogenation of coals in the absence of solvent. The technique has been used to elucidate the mechanisms of catalytic coal liquefaction and to provide simultaneously some insight into the structure of coals. Peter Given was directly instrumental in providing the incentive for this research which has extended since 1983. Previous findings were disseminated through several publications (4-8. In this paper, some of the earlier data have been collated with more recent results (9) to provide an account of the relevance of these studies to the two-component concept. 

An alternative choice is the representation of coal as a two-component system, thereby abandoning the concept of individual structures (Figure 10.35) (Haenel, 1992). Obviously during the use of such a model, the details of any chemical transactions may be missing (but they should always be borne in mind and diminished or ignored) and the model might be convenient to explain many, if not all, of the physicochemical aspects of coal behavior. A very worthy accomplishment, indeed. 

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