Constitution of tars from flash pyrolysis of Australian coals: 3. A structural study of Millmerran asphaltene components by hydrogenolysis

✍ Scribed by Andrew J. Koplick; Peter C. Wailes; Irina Salivin; Ivan Vit; M.Neil Galbraith

• Publisher: Elsevier Science
• Year: 1984
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 983 KB
• Volume: 63
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0016-2361
• DOI: 10.1016/0016-2361(84)90229-1

✦ Synopsis

Asphaltenes derived from tar from the flash pyrolysis of Millmerran coal have been separated into acid, base, polyfunctional and neutral fractions by ion-exchange chromatography.

Each fraction was studied by high-pressure catalytic hydrogenolysis followed by g.c.-m.s. analysis of the volatile products. Thd high content of n-alkanes from C, to C,, in the organic products highlights the unusual maceral composition of Millmerran coal and its high H/C ratio. The results show that most of the asphaltenes are made up of small I-or 2-ring aromatic units probably linked by methylene chains bonded through intermediate functional groups. In some cases, the asphaltene structures appear to be 'simpler' than the corresponding coal-tar resin structures in the maltenes. Because no amphoteric molecules were detected these results support the concept of an acid-base structure for coal-derived asphaltenes.