Relationship between Ether Type Oxygen Contents of Coals and the Yields of Soluble Product Obtained by Reductive Alkylation

Abstract

An improved method for reductive alkylation of coal using molten K in THF was applied to some coal samples.
Good yields of soluble products were obtained in the case of bituminous coals such as Yubari or Kairan, but in the case of anthracite or lignite, the yields were lower than the former.
In the case of reductive alkylation of coals, linear relationship was observed between the yield of soluble products and the ether type oxygen content of sample coals, suggesting that the yields of soluble products depend mainly on the scission of the ether linkage and the subsequent degradation of coal strucrure.
Better correlation between the ratio of the ether type oxygen content to the total oxygen (E0/0) and the yields of soluble products was obtained, which shows that both the ch emical structures of coal units and the contents of ether linkages in coals affect the yields of soluble products in the reductive alkylation of coal.