Chromatographic and spectroscopic analysis of resins extracted from coal with ethanol in the supercritical state

Abstract The study of coal as an alternative energy source and as a feedstock is of great importance due to the uncertainty of petroleum production and the certainty that this source will someday be exhausted. In this work, supercritical ethanol was used to extract the organic material from a southern Brazilian coal. The chemical characterization of this product was carried out using chromatographic and spectroscopic methods in order to obtain a profile of the main components. Important classes of compounds observed, such as phenols and heterocyclic compounds, among others, suggests the need for a better way to use the studied coal.