Aromatic components of coal: relation of distribution pattern to rank

Aromatic distribution patterns have been evaluated for a series of twenty-four German high volatile bituminous B to low volatile bituminous coals of Upper Carboniferous Westphalian C-, B- and A-ages using high performance liquid chromatography and glass capillary gas chromatography. The study concentrates on dicyclic and tricyclic aromatic hydrocarbons most of which have been identified by combined gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The distribution patterns of the methylhomologs of naphthalene and phenanthrene are strongly controlled by rank. A sudden increase of individual isomer ratios at 0.9% Rm coincides with an abrupt shift of the sporinite fluorescence colour from yellow towards red. A recently developed aromatics-derived maturity parameter, the Methylphenanthrene Index (MPI), correlated well with the vitrinite reflectance data over the whole rank range. Deviations have been attributed to variations of maceral composition or migration phenomena. The influence of artificial thermal alteration (350 and 400dgC) on the aromatic distribution pattern of coal is described.