Determination of functional groups of coal-derived liquids by n.m.r. and elemental analysis

A new method of structural analysis was applied to a group of hydroliquefied coal samples. The method uses elemental analysis and n.m.r. data to estimate the concentrations of functional groups in the samples. The samples included oil and asphaltene fractions obtained in a series of hydroliquefaction experiments, and a set of nine fractions separated from a coal-derived oil. The structural characterization of these samples demonstrates that estimates of functional group concentrations can be used to provide detailed structural profiles of complex mixtures and to obtain limited information about reaction pathways.