Structural investigations of Australian coals II: A 13C-NMR study of the humic acids from Victorian brown coal lithotypes

The experimental conditions allowing quantitative interpretation of liquid state ¹³C-NMR spectra of the humic acids, derived from the five Victorian brown coal lithotypes are described. The structure of the two classes of humic acids investigated for each lithotype vary significantly in their level of aromaticity, the level of polar functional groups and aliphatic chains attached to their polyaromatic skeletons. Variation is also observed in the degree of aromaticity and oxygen-containing functions of humic acids with lithotype. These data are interpreted in the light of paleobotanical evidence, which suggests that the lithotypes represent variations in depositional environment and input to the coal seam.