Changes in active functional groups during low-temperature oxidation of coal

Using Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) combined with an adiabatic oxidation test, temperature-programmed oxidation and gas analysis, we studied the changes of active functional groups during low-temperature oxidation of lignite, gas coal, fat coal and anthracite. During slow low-temperature heat accumulation, aliphatic hydrocarbons, such as methyl and methylene, are attacked by oxygen atoms absorbed by pores on coal surfaces, generating unstable solid intermediate carbon-oxygen complexes, which then decompose into gaseous products (CO, CO2) and stable solid complexes. At the accelerated oxidation stage, the stable complexes begin to decompose in large amounts and provided new active sites for further oxidation, while the aliphatic structures gained energy and fell from the benzene rings to produce CxHy and H2.