Large Scale Molecular Model Construction of Xishan Bituminous Coal

Abstract

Molecular structural information on a Chinese Xishan bituminous coal was obtained using elemental analysis, high resolution transmission electron microscope (HRTEM), laser desorption time-of-flight mass spectrometry (LD-TOF MS), solid state 13C nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) techniques. The size and distribution of aromatic structures were determined by HRTEM, providing 300 base aromatic skeletons for a coal model. Aliphatic side chains and heteroatoms were introduced into these aromatic skeletons according to 13C NMR and XPS results, which created 300 individual coal fragments. The individual fragments were cross-linked randomly with aromatic–aromatic, aromatic–aliphatic, aromatic–oxygen, aliphatic–aliphatic, and aliphatic-oxygen linkages to match the molecular weight distribution observed in LD-TOF MS. As a result, the coal model was constructed. The proposed model was comprised of 62 unique individual molecules with a composition of C7972H4882O115N50S30, wh...