Composition of extraction products from alkylated high-sulphur coals

Products of reductive and non-reductive methylation of two high-sulphur coals (Mequinenza and Illinois No. 6) have been extracted by dichloromethane. It has been established that the efficiency of the transformation of coal to the products soluble in CH₂Cl₂ is higher for coals subjected to non-reductive methylation by the Liotta method than for those after reduction in the potassium/liquid ammonia system. The extracts and the extraction residues were subjected to elemental analysis, IR spectroscopy, and AP-TPR (Atmospheric Pressure-Temperature Programmed Reduction) measurements. It has been shown that the main species undergoing extraction by CH₂Cl₂ are aliphatic compounds or aromatic structures of low degree of condensation. The effect of the extraction on the sulphur groups in coal has been discussed.