Study On Coal Oxidation Under Mild Conditions

Oxidation products of four raw coals and five extracted coals using hydrogen peroxide under mild conditions have been fractionated by solvent extraction and analyzed with GC/MS. The mechanism for coal oxidation was examined by oxidation of more than ten model compounds and FTIR analyses of several samples. The oxidations were performed in H2O2 aqueous solution at temperature not higher than 60℃. The results show that hydrocarbons are main soluble organic compounds present in coals; many heteroatom-containing compounds were produced via oxidation; coal oxidation in H2O2 aqueous solution predominately proceeds via radical mechanism; free hydroxyl groups are present in coals; a number of value-added compounds can be obtained by oxidation and solvent extraction.