Hydrogen transfer from tetralin to coals: Reactivity of bituminous coals and their products of extraction with N-methyl-2-pyrrolidinone

Abstract

To explain certain phenomena occurring during thermal processing of coal, studies were made of hydrogen transfer to coals, their N-methyl-2-pyrrolidinone (NMP) extracts and residues and tetrahydrofuran (THF)-soluble and -insoluble parts of the NMP extracts. The transfer of hydrogen to coals was found to be rank-dependent; the extraction products followed the same trend but with a poorer correlation. Much higher hydrogen acceptance reactivities were determined for NMP residues than for parent coals. The reactivity of extracts changed during prolonged storage. The FT-i.r. deconvoluted spectra, the correlation between oxygen content and hydrogen transfer and other data indicated that carbonyl (quinone) groups are the primary acceptor sites of hydrogen from tetralin at relatively low temperature (310–320 °C). The relation between hydrogen acceptance and coke microtexture formation during carbonization is discussed.