Abstract
ISOLATION of saturated isoprenoids from coal liquefaction products is an indication of the remarkable stability of these compounds. In the present investigation we show that some ‘biologcal markers’ and asymmetric carbons can survive the conditions of coal liquefaction without rearrangement or complete racemisation. Also, odd carbon numbered n-alkanes do not predominate, as reported for some coals, in either the coal liquefaction products studied or the feed coal. The distribution of saturates in the synthetic oil is very similar to that of some petroleums1. The detection of ‘biological markers’ in coal and coal liquefaction products supports the geological and chemical evidence that coal is a product of the progressive fossilisation of plant debris. Optcally active materials isolated from peat, lignite, brown and bitumnous coals corroborate this theory. Additionally, hydrocarbons bearing skeletal structures that are widely distributed among plants have been extracted from coal. Ōuchi and Imuta2 have found normal alkanes from C9–C31 in the benzene extracts of Yūbari coal; more recently, Harrison3 and Bartle, et al.4 have identified the normal alkanes and saturated isoprenoids in the supercritical toluene extracts of bituminous coals.
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