Study of various rank french demineralized coals and maceral concentrates: band assignment of FTIR spectra after resolution enhancement using Fourier deconvolutions

FTIR spectra of six French coals of a variety of ranks, previously demineralized, as well as those of their fractions highly enriched in one type of maceral (exinite, vitrinite and inertinite) were recorded between 4000 and 400 cm -1 . Various methods (in particular deconvolution) were used for increasing the apparent spectral resolution of overlapping bands which appear in several spectral ranges (3000-2800 cm -1 , 900-700 cm -1 , 1700-1500 and 1500-1300 cm -1 ). Various assignments were made taking into account the evolution of the FTIR spectra with respect to coal rank and maceral separation