Change in the composition of anthracite on storage and in the tissues of the organism

Prolonged storage in the open air oxidizes anthracite and appreciably reduces its carbon content. Peaks appear in the infra-red spectrum typical of oxygen-containing groups. A slight reduction in the H/C ratio, despite a high-level general background being maintained, suggests that there are no changes in the basic molecular structure. In contact with the human organism, on the other hand, anthracite dust undergoes marked changes in its organic substance and a reduction in the ash yield. There is reason to suppose that, in contrast to bituminous coal, the oxidative hydrolytic decomposition of anthracite in the organism is accompanied by reaction or sorption of tissue protein. The spectrogram of an anthracite sample shows absorption peaks in the infra-red region which are typical of aromatic, aliphatic and alicyclic structures and indicate that this anthracite falls in the 'higher reduced' category. (8 refs.)